Patong—
At 1:00 AM, on December 15th, 2023, Thai tourist police received a missing person report from Finnish parents that they could not contact their son as an anonymous person allegedly impersonated a Phuket police officer and asked for 7,000 euros to release their son.
The tourist police investigated the case and were able to contact the missing person who was publicly identified as Mr. Aki-Perreri Kristian, a 27-year-old Finnish tourist, and his friend who was publicly identified as Mr. Siikalouma Joonass Patteri, a 34-year-old Finnish tourist.
Neither tourist was in trouble, at least not in terms of being kidnapped. In fact, the truth was shocking to many…the two overstaying tourists had made up the entire story in an elaborate scheme to try to get money from their parents and stay longer in Thailand.
According to a report by Patong police officers on December 16th, Kristian and Patteri had overstayed for more than 141 days. Both Finnish tourists reportedly confessed that they made up a story about being held captive by the police to ask for money from Kristian’s parents, said the police.
Initially, Patong police officers pressed charges of overstaying in the Kingdom of Thailand without legal permission before escorting Kristian and Patteri to Patong inquiry officers for further legal processing.
The two are expected to be deported and blacklisted but may also face legal charges in Thailand for falsely claiming that they were kidnapped by Thai police and extorted for money.
