A Sri Lankan tourist accused a Pattaya herbal shop of pressuring him into a 3,300 baht purchase yesterday, September 15, just over a week after an Indian tourist made a similar complaint about the same business.
The 31 year old tourist went to Pattaya City Police Station at about 10.39pm. He told police that an unidentified foreign man, who appeared to be Indian, approached him and said he worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The man allegedly began talking to him about coconut oil and herbal products, claiming they could help with hair growth.
According to the tourist, the man initially offered the herbal product for about 250 baht per gram before persuading him to enter a shop.
Once inside, the tourist said he saw several other people and began to feel unsafe.
He said he eventually paid 3,300 baht to end the situation and leave the shop.
After returning from the store and checking what he had bought, the tourist said some of the products appeared to be ordinary coconut oil that would normally cost far less than the amount he had paid.
He then decided to report the incident to the police and asked officers to take action against those involved.
The shop was later found to be the same business previously linked to another tourist complaint earlier this month.
On September 7, an Indian tourist said he had similarly been persuaded to enter the shop to buy herbal products. He claimed he later felt unsafe and paid more than 11,000 baht.
Pattaya police and investigators subsequently visited the shop, where a 21 year old sales employee identified only as Sathaphon came forward to speak with them.
The shop contacted its owner and returned 10,000 baht to the Indian tourist in an attempt to settle the dispute without further legal action.
Sathaphon acknowledged at the time that the sale had taken place but did not respond to the allegations surrounding the incident.
When reporters returned to the shop after the latest complaint, Sathaphon confirmed that the business had sold the Sri Lankan tourist coconut oil and herbal products.
He asked whether the tourist had filed a police complaint and, after being told that he had, declined to comment further before calling someone believed to be the shop owner.
The tourist said he was upset and disappointed by the experience during his Pattaya holiday. Police advised him to contact a centre handling transnational crime and illegal immigration the following day to provide further information and continue the case.
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