Police nab 50 suspects for allegedly cheating the system in Phuket, Chaiyaphum
Police on Wednesday morning raided several hotels and restaurants in Phuket and Chaiyaphum provinces for allegedly stealing from the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) government subsidy scheme.
According to police, of the 41 suspects in Chaiyaphum province, 38 were arrested, while 12 of the 14 suspects in Phuket were nabbed.
The suspects include operators of hotels and restaurants, as well as accomplices, who took advantage of a not very stringent verification system.
For instance, police said, a person was able to register a fake hotel and even show bookings. In some cases, operators allegedly recorded a higher price for rooms to get a bigger payoff from the government. The subsidy scheme offers customers a discount and returns the difference to hotels or restaurants.
The suspects face a variety of charges, ranging from fraud and false identification to misusing electronic cards and adding fraudulent information to the computer system.