A vacation is supposed to be fun and stress-free, especially when you have it planned months in advance to let off some steam from the hectic work. Unfortunately, some people just can’t have a break.
A Malaysian woman, fortunately, made it home safely with her family after a traumatic experience in Bangkok, Thailand. By now, you should be aware of the job scam syndicate where the victims are allegedly locked up in Burma with parts of Thailand being the “entry point” of the victims where their passports were confiscated by the syndicate. On her Facebook account, the Malaysian woman recounts her horrifying experience in Thailand and she was THIS close to being kidnapped.
“I know a little bit of Thai, and that’s what saved me!”
On the 2nd day of their trip, the family hired a driver to bring them around the town, and he was paid around 1,500 Baht (approximately RM196) for the trip which was supposed to take the entire day. It didn’t take long for Mei Qi to sense something wrong with the driver.
The driver was making some phone calls but for someone who was behind the wheel, it was a little too much.
“He made 5 to 6 phone calls in just 20 minutes.”
Mei Qi’s aunty could understand a little bit of Thai and thanks to her, she noticed the driver’s suspicious conversation.
“He was telling the other party that he had 7 people in the car. He also asked how long was our stay and where was our hotel.”
As if his phone calls and questions were not suspicious enough, the driver also told them the journey to their destination would take an hour. Mei Qi, however, knew that it needed only 30 minutes after checking on her GPS. By that time, Mei Qi and her family decided to cancel the trip to explore the place and told the driver to go back to the hotel, but he insisted NOT to.
“He insisted that we go someplace else. We said no, and he told us he needed to fill the gas.”
That was Mei Qi’s cue to exit the car when the driver stopped at the gas station. The family paid him, and they immediately sought shelter at a cafe near the gas station.
Guess what? The driver left immediately without feeling the gas!
Mei Qi also revealed that some locals told her about the “connection” between some hotels and unlicensed cab drivers, who are tasked to drive unsuspecting tourists to the “death traps.”
“I was also told NOT to drink the bottled water in the car. They might have been drugged.”
Although she wasn’t sure if the driver was targeting her family, she wanted to share her experience to spread awareness.
It’s beyond frightening to even imagine if Mei Qi and her family had fallen prey to the driver. To those who have been to Bangkok, have you experienced a similar situation?
Also read: Job Scam Victims Reveal That M’sians in Their 20s are Responsible for Death of Other M’sian Victims