Crime
Six Taiwanese Women Robbed While Sleeping at Pattaya Resort Villa
staffers allegedly blamed the group of guests for failing to lock up their personal property.
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PATTAYA – Six Taiwanese tourists have reported to Pattaya City Police that they had been robbed of more than Bt70,000, (S$2,745)Â after waking up to find the window open and their wallets scattered across the floor.
The six women said that they booked with an online reservation at a well-known resort called VIP Villas Pattaya Palm Oasis Jomtien Beach, but when they arrived Thursday, the counter service staffers found various reasons to deny us room keys.
The Taiwanese tourists find their bags and purses scattered in their room the next morning. Photo courtesy of one of the victims.
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They asked us to put our luggage in the rooms and to have a walk around,” one tourist said.
After placinng the luggage in the room, one of the travellers told staff that their room telephone did not work and that the French windows did not lock, asking the hotel staff to resolve the issue.
After returning to the resort at night, the tourists smelled what they later described as an “unusual odour” in their rooms. One of the tourists, in a social media post, said the odour was “very fragrant” and that it triggered headaches and extreme fatigue.
One of the women told Central News Agency that she was a chronic light sleeper, however she proceeded to sleep deeply all night.
The following morning, the group reportedly woke to find the French window open and their wallets scattered across the floor, with over 70,000 Thai baht (S$2,745) missing.
They had first asked hotel staff to report the case to police, but the request was ignored, until a Rabu Tangthongtavee a member of the Thai-Chinese community arrived to assist them.
Upon arrival of the police a staff member admitted that other guests of the Villa had been robbed, seven times in the last 10 days.
The woman complained that there was a serious problem with villa management as it only passively assisted in preparing the report for the police and blamed them for not keeping their valuables in the room’s safe deposit box.
One tourist said, “We dare not imagine the outcome if our physical safety had been threatened. We hope tourists from Taiwan will not stay at this villa and recommend being wary of personal property and physical safety when travelling in Thailand.”
Tiawans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the case is now being handled by Thai police, and Taiwan’s representative office in Thailand is also helping follow the progress of the case.
The six Taiwanese have returned to Bangkok, and will soon return to Taiwan after concluding their journey, the ministry said.
Source: Asia One, Focus Taiwan
