Group of British women held to ransom by armed Thai police and forced to pay £150 – for a broken TOILET
Jade McInnes, Stacey Robertson, Rachel McFarlane, and Emily Michie, from Fife, Scotland, were in disbelief when gun-toting cops appeared at their hotel
FOUR British holidaymakers say they were held to ransom by armed police after the loo at their Thai hotel was smashed.
Jade McInnes, Stacey Robertson, Rachel McFarlane, and Emily Michie claim they were told to pay 10,000 Baht — around £230.
The Scottish women say the gun-toting cops then bartered with them before accepting 6,500 Baht — around £150 — not to chuck them in jail.
The standoff came after the group of old school pals came back from lunch on Wednesday to find the manager at JJ Residence on Phi Phi Island pointing to the broken lavvy.
They insist the damage was done by a laughing maid.
Jade, 27, of Kirkcaldy, said: “We were in disbelief. We thought someone had broken in, but they were stood saying ‘No, you done this’.
"Then armed police arrived and threatened us with arrest if we didn’t pay.
"We didn’t want to miss our flight home, so we just had to pay it.
“We didn’t want to spend the night in a Thai jail. It felt like a scam.”
Jade, Stacey, 28, Rachel, 27, and 26-year-old Emily fly home today.
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The group had been staying at the venue since Monday after island hopping for eight days.
A spokesman for the hotel confirmed the dispute but claimed they still wanted 10,000 Baht.
He said: “They can’t go home until they’ve paid all their money.”
However, Jade insisted she had been assured by staff the issue was now resolved.
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