Yet Another Hotel Room Cash Theft

[Gaybutton]

I am well aware that I am often criticized for posting so many stories about someone losing large amounts of cash from a hotel room or condo theft, but I'm going to keep right on posting these things in hopes of helping to prevent it from happening to someone who reads this board, especially if he is about to make a first-time trip to Thailand and intends to carry a large sum of money.

 

I can't figure out why anyone would keep large amounts of cash in his hotel room in the first place, whether in a safe or not, when it is so easy to carry travel checks and/or an ATM card. Nevertheless, it seems as if no more than a month or so ever goes by without reading about yet another such theft. Why anyone would withdraw more cash than he needs for a day or two, and then keep it in a hotel room goes beyond me, but people keep doing that. It is incredible to me that people would carry more cash than they can afford to lose, but . . . . In this story, the guy didn't even have his cash in a safe. He had it in a suitcase!

 

Here's the latest story, from the PATTAYA CITY NEWS:

_____

 

Hotel Room theft Costs French Family over 500,000 Baht

 

Police Major Pongsawat from Pattaya Police Station was called to the Carlton Pattaya Hotel on Tuesday Night after a Hotel Guest reported a suspected theft from his room. The victim is Mr. Daniel Pappas aged 51 from France who explained to Police that he had returned back to his room after a night out and found that items had been stolen from inside the room. 4,500 Euro

[Guest stef]

4500 EUROS ? This is insane to have so much cash... I can't believe one would bring so much especially in Thailand...

Live and Learn

 

[llz]

If this Monsieur Pappas is the one who appears when googling this name, I guess that the French taxmen will take great interest in his misfortune ...

[Guest mgluyas]

We all get careless. When i was in Pattaya recently, I did all the right things with the safe and money/passports/tickets etc. That is till the last night when I packed all my bags ready to leave early the next morning. I felt like going out for a last stroll around, for the first time picked a guy up from the beach side and we went back to my room. I stupidly had my wallet with $A600 emergency money in it in the bedside drawer. Anyway I think I was slipped a mickey and woke to find partner gone, telephone off the hook and all my money missing. the telephone off the hook was a good one, as the desk boy normally rings when a guy leaves and collects his ID to ensure everything is okay. It didn't happen this time.

I'm not sure if the leason is don't pick up off the street, or never let your guard down.

Still it didn,t spoil my holiday experience and I am now saving to come back

Michael

[Guest fountainhall]

The answer is really quite simple - leave your money and valuables in the hotel safety deposit boxes at reception or locked in the in-room safe. There was another post recently about one hotel's safety deposit boxes being positioned immediately behind reception and the keys being switched. If safety deposit boxes are not in a private area near the cashier, be eagle-eyed at all times to make sure the right key is returned.

 

Failing these, only use hard covered suitcases, lock everything in the case and keep the key hidden somewhere. That won't help in the case of robbers breaking in to your room, but it will stop those who spike drinks from finding anything other than what's in your wallet at the time.

 

Another caveat - if you have drinks in your room with your 'friend', never let the glass out of your sight. If you do, empty the glass and pour a new drink.

[Guest bowwow23]

It sounds like it could have been an insurance job!

 

Was there anything else missing?

[Guest haikudude]

Another caveat - if you have drinks in your room with your 'friend', never let the glass out of your sight. If you do, empty the glass and pour a new drink.

 

 

On that note, if I may relay a similar account. About a year ago a Robinson

[Guest Boxer]

Have you noticed that the reported 'missing from room' cases are always large sums?? Insurance fraud for sure, or just stupidity, as Insurance only cover a small sum usually.

 

As for Micky Fin in drinks that is a growing problem in Pattaya so beware of the dark room drinkers (personally I can think of nothing worse than TV for sex) and have only small cash around you at all times, but as they are your guest maybe you should make the drinks and keep them in sight as others say.

[Gaybutton]

One common occurrence is the spiked drinks. I don't know about you, but the reason I take a boy to my room isn't for having drinks, that's for sure. There is no way I would have a drink with a money boy in my room and I wouldn't let him have one either.

 

One question in my mind . . . what are they spiking the drinks with? It seems that whatever they use, it keeps people asleep for many hours. For one of those long-haul international flights, that might be just the thing. What do they use and where do they get it?

[Guest buaseng]

One question in my mind . . . what are they spiking the drinks with? It seems that whatever they use, it keeps people asleep for many hours. For one of those long-haul international flights, that might be just the thing. What do they use and where do they get it?

It could be one of:-

GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid) - has a few forms: a liquid with no odor or color, white powder, and pill. Drinks can taste salty when contaminated with GHB.

 

Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) - is a pill and dissolves in liquids. New pills turn blue when added to liquids. However, the old pills, with no color, are still available.

 

Ketamine (ketamine hydrocholoride) - is a white powder.

 

All three (classed in the UK as date rape drugs) have a common effect of severe drowsiness or unconsciousness with no memory of what happened. They all have a number of other side-effects including a feeling of euphoria when awakening from sleep/unconsciousness. Most worryingly they all have quite serious side-effects for people with blood pressure or heart problems.

 

Being Thailand it could be a variant or copy of any one of these (but most probably GHB) but could equally be a totally different substance.

[Gaybutton]

Being Thailand it could be a variant or copy of any one of these (but most probably GHB) but could equally be a totally different substance.

 

Let's just hope none of these drink spikings end up turning into murder. It sounds awfully dangerous to me and unfortunately there are people out there who seem to be willing to do anything to steal from others, whether they are aware of what could happen to their victims or not.

 

As I said, there is no way I'll ever have a drink with a stranger in my room. I wouldn't even pull the old 'switch the glasses' trick. I'd be stuck with a thief in my room, hopelessly passed out. Of course, he'd have some explaining to do when he wakes up, and he'd be doing that explaining to the police.

[Guest BKKvisitor]

During a visit a few years ago to Babylon, I was enticed into a cabin (it actually didn't take all that much enticing) by a Thai lad. Before getting down to business, he popped into his mouth what I assumed was a breath mint. He proceeded to initiate a passionate make out session. While kissing, he repeatedly attempted to deposit an orange-flavored tablet into my mouth. I kept rejecting his offering and decided it was better to let my head rule my emotions. I wrapped my towel around me and left. About 45 minutes later I spotted the same guy slumped over in a chair in the courtyard. His plan was apparently to wait for me to pass out and take my key to open my locker and return it before I awakened.

 

 

[TotallyOz]

I have to say I have heard very few of these stories in Thailand. They are VERY common in Brazil where I travel often. I have heard the spiked drink story hundreds of times and it is not uncommon.

 

I always stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sao Paulo. I love the hotel and I have never been there without the same group of Delta flight attendants there at some point in my stay. They always bring a bottle of wine to my room and we go out on the town for a night or two. I have great fun with them. Like me, they are well traveled and know that when you go to a club there you have to keep you hand on top of your drink at all times. Imagine that. Every club you go to, you need to have a hand on top of your drink the whole time!

 

Anyway, one night a new guy was there with them and he was more accustomed to trips to other places and he went out with the guys. He slipped up and someone put something in his drink. He was lucky that he was not killed. But, he could not be woken up and was in the hospital for a day. The flight had to be canceled as they did not have the right number of people as required. What a mess for a lousy drink.

 

I have been lucky there and never had anything slipped into my drink. I have been robbed at gunpoint by a local ATM and learned a lesson there.

 

I usually travel with only a small amount of cash and my ATM cards. When I get to the hotel, I always keep every locked up safe.

[Guest BKKvisitor]

GB, your post about Brazil, and reflections on my Babs experience, got me thinking so I did a little on-line research. Apparently the use of drugs associated with date rape are more commonly being used (in the UK, at least) for robbery.

 

"In the United Kingdom, the use of flunitrazepam and other "date rape" drugs has been connected to stealing from sedated victims. One expert quoted in a British tabloid estimated that up to 2,000 individuals are robbed each year after being spiked with powerful sedatives, making drug-assisted robbery a more common problem than drug-assisted rape.

 

Criminals sometimes use flunitrazepam before committing robbery as it has a calming and anti-emotive effect. This allows the criminal to perform the robbery without becoming anxious. Flunitrazepam is also known to induce anterograde amnesia making police interrogations more difficult."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flunitrazepam...litated_robbery

 

I suspect it's under reported in the LOS. Be careful out there!

[khaolakguy]

 

 

I have been lucky there and never had anything slipped into my drink. I have been robbed at gunpoint by a local ATM and learned a lesson there.

 

 

Thanks for this warning, I never realised that ATMs could even have guns. Did they slip it through the cash dispensing opening?

[Guest sydneyboy]

I know this forum is about Thailand, where I have been many times , but the warning about safety in Brazil is appropriate. I was robbed at knifepoint in Rio by 3 thugs at 6:30pm (barely dark) on the main street opposite the beach with a group of about 8 locals just standing and watching and ignoring my screams for help. I have been back so it has not deterred me but in Brazil at all times be very wary.

[Guest wowpow]

I see that the American guy whi was kidnapped in Bangkok had US$400,000 taken from his condo!!!

[Guest shockdevil]

I see that the American guy whi was kidnapped in Bangkok had US$400,000 taken from his condo!!!

 

$400,000! That sounds outrageous and pretty unbelievable. Aren