King Power to issue statement on allegations

King Power, the duty-free shop company, at Bangkok’s gateway airport, is drafting a statement to counter allegations by a British couple in the UK media.

King Power Group is working on an explanatory statement that will be released later today to present its version of the story regarding  the recent arrest of a British couple accused of shoplifting at a King Power duty-free shop in Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The British couple returned home and in an interview with the Sunday Times claimed they had been falsely arrested and prevented from returning home for five days.

They were arrested in the airport’s holding area, while waiting to board a Qantas flight to London, 25 April. They finally left the country, 1 May, on a British Airways flight after a public prosecutor dropped all charges.

The incident was not reported in the UK media until last Sunday, when the British couple alleged they were victims of an extortion racket that forced them to pay between UK sterling 7,000 to 8,000 to secure their freedom.

TTR Weekly filed a report after investigating the Sunday Times claims in its online version yesterday, with links to the original UK newspaper report and a subsequent blog site that provided additional background.

According to King Power’s legal department, the company is now drafting a statement that will be sent to all relevant agencies including Tourism Authority of Thailand, Airports of Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thai embassy in London, British embassy in Bangkok and to media outlets. After it has been distributed it will be posted on the company’s website at www.kingpower.com.

“There are many questions both from our own staff and units and also from the media. We consider that we have suffered serious damage and we need to clarify the situation urgently,” said a legal department official.

TTR Weekly also learned that Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affair is also investigating the case.  A ministry team has been assigned the task and is seeking information from various ministries and agencies.

A reliable source at the Foreign Ministry confirmed officials were investigating the reports and statements and would be contacting units at the airport namely, the “Tourist Police, Rachatewa Police Station and Airports of Thailand, to establish the truth”.

“It seriously affects out work. We need to protect the country’s image, but we also realise that it diminishes traveller confidence. Our embassy in the UK needs to seek clarification.  If we discover the couple’s allegations are true then we will have to urge government units to act on it,” the source explained.

Tourism has recently been elevated to national agenda status by the government, which provides a platform for ministries to work hand-in-hand to improve and assist the designated industry to achieve certain targets.

In telephone responses to the story, yesterday, travel executives said shoplifters deserved to be prosecuted regardless of their nationality or where the offence took place.

But they conceded suspects apprehended within an international airport should be given an opportunity to seek legal assistance or make contact with their embassy at the outset of investigations.