MALAYSIANS FALLING PREY TO BANGKOK GEMS SCAM

A special report by D.Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Despite numerous reports on the infamous
Bangkok gem scams, many unsuspecting Malaysians, lured by the sparkling gem
stones or sheer greed, are losing thousands of ringgit to such scams.

In the latest incidents, a family on tour here lost 130,000 baht
(RM13,000)while an executive with Malaysia's oil firm, Petronas, spent 88,000
baht (RM8,800) on poor quality gems.

In fact, some of the buyers were thinking of making a quick buck back home
as they were told that the gems could be sold back to leading jewellers in
Malaysia like Poh Kong and Habib at more than 80 per cent profit.

It is learnt that an average of five cases of Malaysians being cheated were
reported to the Thai authorities and the Malaysian embassy here every year.

"This is the tip of the iceberg. There could be many more such cases as not
many buyers realise that they have been conned, or they just don't have the
resources to pursue the matter once they are back home," an embassy official
said.

Many of the complainants were those who took the trouble to check the
authenticity of the gems with dealers back home, while some realised it after
browsing the Internet and reading thousands of reports on the scam.

In fact, there are 36,400 entries about Bangkok's gem scams on Google. Many
tourists coming to Thailand are usually attracted by the country's popularity
for its gems stones where it exported about US$8.27 billion worth last year.

The scam is well-organised and targets tourists and expatriates in the
capital.

Many Malaysians working here or their visiting relatives and friends have
often been approached by the scammers, who are mostly well-dressed individuals
working in hand-in-glove with tuk-tuk drivers and the gems shops.

Recounting his experience, a human resource manager with a multinational
here, who declined to be named, said he and his family were approached by a
young man when we went to visit the Grand Palace.

The man told them that the palace had been closed for some prayers and
offered to take them to another famous temple called Lucky Buddha.

The man then called tuk-tuk which was willing to take them around for a mere
20 baht.

He said they were taken to a gem shop after visiting the temple but despite
the sweet talk they did not buy anything as he was suspicious from the start, he
said.

He said the same thing happened to his mother and a family friend a few
months later but they again did not buy anything.

But not many were so lucky. In a report lodged with the embassy and Thai
authorities, a man said he and his family were taken to a shop where the manager
claimed that it was the last day of promotion and normally they would not sell
to tourists as they were wholesalers.

"We saw that there was ISO9001:2000 banner hanging outside the shop.
Therefore, we were more convinced to buy their product. She (manager) also told
us that their shop supplied gems to Poh Kong in Malaysia," the man said.

They bought two pendants, a ring and a pair of ear-rings for 130,000 baht,
only to be told by two certified gemologists in Malaysia that they had been
conned as the gems were treated with beryllium to change the sapphire's natural
colour.

In another case, a Petronas executive said he was approached by a man in
Khao San Road where he was persuaded to visit Black Buddha temple and few other
shopping centres using a tuk-tuk for just 20 baht.

Later, he was taken to an export centre where he was told that the Thai
government was holding a promotion only for students and tourists, with items
being sold without the usual 195 per cent tax, as well as another 20 per cent
discount.

He bought a set of blue sapphire with diamond ring, ear-rings and pendant in
white gold setting for 88,000 baht but instead of taking the items to the hotel,
he was taken to a courier agent and told to courier them immediately as it was
not safe to carry them around.

After browsing the Internet, the executive was shocked to find out that
hundreds of people had been conned by the same shop for years. He lodged a
complaint with the embassy and the shop agreed to pay back 90 per cent of the
price.

A taxi driver, who previously worked with the scammers, said they were
normally paid a commission (up to 30 percent) once a transaction had taken
place, or at least some money to purchase fuel.

He said the group members, some of whom he claimed were off-duty policemen,
normally preyed on tourists at popular spots like the Grand Palace, Siam Square,
Central World, Pratunam, Wat Pho and Khaosan Road.

A spokesman of the Thai Tourist Police said the number of reports of such
scam had dropped in recent years, and added that most of the victims were from
France, Australia, Israel, as well as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.

In 2007, there were 62 gem scams reported compared with 83 cases in 2006.

The spokesman said police could not do much as these were criminal cases and
those cheated were advised to file a complaint with the Office of the Consumer
Protection Board.
-- BERNAMA