Calling the Bangkok Police

Location: Empo Hostel, On Nut neighborhood, Bangkok, Thailand

Unscrupulous Hostel Owner
The unscrupulous owner of the hostel I was in, was frantically selling everything in the hostel before the other owner showed up. In the process, she sold the locker with my laptop and passport inside. I was supposed to leave Thailand the following day! My visa was expiring in 2 days. Without my passport, I cannot leave, I will forfeit my flight and my hostel booking in Yangon! There was too much at stake. I called the Bangkok police in helping me get back my stuff.

Backgrounder
Right at the onset when I checked-in, the hostel was plagued by ownership problems. A Thai lady is the "current owner" who has been trying to sell the hostel cheap to various potential buyers. Then one day, an angry Indian guy with his wife showed up (the Thai lady wasn't there) and claimed ownership. Things were discussed with the sitting manager. Accordingly, the Indian owner leased the property to the Thai lady with split percentages on the profit - but no profit was ever reported even though money was being made. The Indian guy claimed that he will close the hostel. With this development, the Thai lady started disposing everything in the hotel and asked everyone to move out by Sept. 24.

All that wasn't my business and I wasn't affected by any of it. But I woke up one morning and found the locker with my laptop and passport missing. Apparently, the Thai owner frantically sold it knowing fully well there was content on one of lockers. She didn't care - she was that unscrupulous. When I found out, she said she didn't know who bought it and then left the hostel saying she was late for her class. I told her in no uncertain terms I will call the police to straighten her out and file charges if necessary. I snapped her picture and we both left - she for her class and me for the police.

7-Eleven
I went to 7-Eleven to find out where the nearest police station was. It was still in Phra Kanong. The supervisor instructed Billy, one of the staff, to ride me on his motorcycle to the police station. Wow! Billy stayed with me the entire time translating to the police what happened.

On another incident, when I had to buy a Thai sim card to facilitate all the messages I had to send due to the laptop incident, another Seven Eleven branch helped me out. Despite the lines, the staff helped me with the right sim, the right plan and even installed the sim and configured my settings until everything was set right. Wow! I have to salute the staff of 7-Eleven.

At The Police Station
A young policeman and police woman helped me out. We all went back to the hostel where they questioned the cleaning lady who was there - the Thai owner was not there and wasn't answering the phone calls either. But she already knew the police were involved. I went back with the police to the precinct to get a police report. I needed the police report for 2 reasons:

a) to present to immigration because without my passport, I cannot leave the country on my visa expiry which was in 2 days!
b) I need the police report in case I have to file charges against the Thai owner.

the police questioning the cleaning lady

The Buyer was Traced
With the police involved, the Thai owner knew she couldn't just brush me off. Not surprisingly, she was able to trace the buyer. She instructed the cleaning lady to accompany me to where the buyer was located. I went back to the hostel to join the cleaning lady. We took the cab and went to Bang Kapi where the buyer was waiting for us. He was a good man and meant well. He knew there was something in the locker but didn't know what it was and bought the locker in good faith. The locker was still locked because I had the keys. I got my laptop and passport back...whew!!! The total taxi meter was a tad short of B300 - it was that far.

Sociopath
When I saw the Thai lady that evening, she acted as if nothing happened. No apologies, no nothing. She was a complete psycho-path (sees others as objects she can use for her own benefit without feeling any moral qualms - no conscience whatsoever). It's scary to think she's still walking around in a free society when she should be locked-up or interned. Since I got my stuff, there was no need to press charges. All I wanted was to leave that hostel and be in time for my flight the following day.

Ending Thoughts
I cannot imagine what might have happened to me in Bangkok if I didn't recover my laptop and passport. I would have to go to the Philippine embassy for a new passport, go to plead my case with Thai immigration, lose my flight and hostel payment, etc. It would have been a nightmare - just because an unscrupulous hostel owner wanted to make the most money before the Indian owner takes over.

Before, I couldn't say enough how wonderful the Thai people are - their warmth and generosity exceeded expectations. How does this incident change that? No, it doesn't change my position one bit. In every culture and society, there is always that .001% who will prey and scam you. The overwhelming majority of Thais are good people and I continue to admire and respect them. The wonderful people who helped me hurdle this challenge were all Thais and that's exactly my point.

Deep gratitude to the wonderful staff of 7-Eleven, the cleaning lady and the responsive Phra Khanong police!

--- TheLoneRider
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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