Young Dane robbed at knifepoint by Tuk-Tuk scammers

A 25-year-old Dane was robbed at knifepoint by a Tuk-Tuk driver and two accomplices in a dark alleyway between Sukhumvit Soi 25 and Soi 55 in the early hours of Saturday, 1 March 2014.

The Dane, identified as Morten Krogsholm, hailed a Tuk-Tuk on Sukhumvit near Sukhumvit Soi 25 and asked to be taken to the nearest BTS station around 3 am. The Tuk-Tuk driver took him speeding down a dimly-lit soi and then suddenly hit the brake, causing the unsuspecting Dane to hit his head on the metal partition on the back of the driver’s seat.

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Two men appeared from either side of the vehicle, with one holding a knife at Morten Krogholm’s throat and the other putting the tip of a dagger at his abdomen. Then they demanded the Dane to hand over all valuables, including about THB10,000 in cash, a mobile phone and a camera. They then threw him out of the vehicle into the ground, kicking him three or four times in the ribs.

A shocking experience, as Morten Krogsholm recounted his ordeal to ScandAsia.

“I was really afraid, especially because one of them had a knife close to my throat. Soi 25 is quite a crowded area with lots of bars and tourists, so needles to say, I was surprised and shocked.”

He was going home after a night out having dinner and and drinks with friends, and got into a Tuk-Tuk and asked to be taken BTS Asoke station. The Tuk-Tuk drove in the opposite direction down Sukhumvit Road for just a few hundred meters in the direction of Thonglor before turning down a dark soi and robbed the Dane.

After the incident, Morten Krogsholm went limping out of the soi back out to Sukhumvit road and found a group of policemen out in the street nearby.

“They all pretty much laughed at me, when I told them what had just happened. Surprisingly enough one of them gave me 200 baht, so I could get a taxi home, “ he said.

The day after, Morten told his American neighbour back in the condominium, where he lives, about the robbery.

“And then the exact same thing happened to him the next day. Threatened and robbed at knifepoint by a Tuk-Tuk driver and two accomplices,” he said, adding that the incidents could either be a coincidence or a worrying trend of crimes against foreigners.

On Monday, Morten Krogsholm reported the crime to the Thonglor Police Station, filing his statement so he can get some compensation from his insurance company.

 

13 Comments on “Young Dane robbed at knifepoint by Tuk-Tuk scammers”

  1. Thomas, just consider yourself lucky never having had any threats thrown your way, as Bangkok is not a safe place at all. You should even be aware of the corrupt police and avoid contact with them as well. Your reply here reeks of a complete lack of compassion for other people’s misery.

    Sincerely, Jakob 🙁

  2. Morton, have the American guy you know fill a report with the police. The more people do it, they may get off their backsides and find them.

  3. What does it matter how short the walk was, the guy wanted to get a tuk-tuk

    That’s hardly the point, is it. The point is he was robbed.

    It’s not his ‘fault’ for not walking it’s the fault of the people that robbed him

  4. Dear Thomas,

    I guess it’s just a figure of speech, so don’t put too much into that.

    It would from a journalistic point of view be unethical to write a story yourself about yourself. Scandasia delivers news about scandinavians in Asia to scandinavians. Considering the fact that I’m a scandinavian living in Bangkok my story falls under this category.

    I’m not sure if you’ve been living too long away from Denmark, but at no point in the article do I refer to the corrupt tûk-tûk drivers as a whole. In regards to my remark about the police it clearly states “they do not have the best reputation” and taking into consideration that Thailand is ranked highly corrupted on the http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2013/results/ – I don’t believe that remark was uncalled for.

    I hope you knocked on wood, when you wrote you never experienced the threats. Because you never know, and one day it could be a story about you. Maybe you’d like some compassion at that point. But I do hope this does never happen to you,

    It would be strange if I did not sound like I was far from home, when 12.000 km. away from home. I’m quite sure my mom misses me too, thanks. And you are right, there is no shame in returning.
    -But your logic is similar to people saying women wearing hot clothes are asking to be raped.

    / Morten

  5. Take a taxi, always, they are cheap enough. Don’t flash cash and gadgets either, be real respectful to everyone on your path as well.

  6. “…the young Dane, identified as Morten Krogsholm…”

    Couldn’t have been that much trouble ‘identifying’ Mr. Krogsholm, as he works for Scandasia.com, right?

    Why not not let the poor fellow write the story here himself – and let him have the chance to speak as freely about Bangkok, it’s ignorant police and the corrupt tûk-tûk drivers as a whole, as he does in danish tabloids?

    http://ekstrabladet.dk/ferie/udland/article2230481.ece

    I have wandered Bangkok late-night numerous times and never, ever felt the threats ‘the young dane’ experienced.

    Dear Mr. Krogsholm, you sound like you are very, very far away from home. It’s no shame to return – your mummy misses you too!

    Sincerly, Thomas 😉

  7. Things are definitely hotting up against foreigners in Thailand. The Thai ego is very fragile, and it has taken a severe bruising recently as their country is being exposed as a corrupt, lawless, basket-case. They couldn’t care less about the root causes or fixing it, but face is everything and when the truth keeps coming out they lose a lot of it. I have noticed even outside the tourist areas more open hostility and tension in the air recently. Lunatics like Suthep and his ilk blaming foreigners for grenade attacks and bombings only exacerbate the problem.

  8. Welcome to Thailand, the most dangerous tourism destination for Brits, Aussies and Swedes.
    There are no regulations for tuk-tuk drivers, most that hang around tourist spots are common thugs and petty criminals. The Thais don’t often use them, certainly not around tourist areas, and when they do, they pay a fraction of what tourists pay. Why use a dangerous tuk-tuk when you can get in an air-con cab which is both safer and probably cheaper?
    Best advice to anyone visiting Bangkok is to hail a taxi from the street. Don’t use stationary taxis and don’t use tuk-tuks.

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