“Believe me – I’m a doctor!” – Hunt on for fraudster who racked up 50K hotel bill

Police in Chiang Mai are hunting for a 49 year old fraudster who lived the “Life of Riley” at a downtown hotel racking up a near 50,000 baht bill before leaving without paying. 

Chayarop Sangchuay told staff that he was a doctor doing research on behalf of the interior ministry. 

He said he would pay on checkout – but he left stuff in his room and no one has been able to get hold of him since. 

Sources said “Dr Kamalor” (a name given him in the Thai press that indicates fraudulent activity) was just a conman. 

Phrae, 35, the hotel manageress finally went to the police to tell them that this was the third time that Mr Chayarop had stayed at her hotel. The other two times he had booked online, this time he walked in on September 21st. 

Throughout his stay until October 12th he had been living it up eating and drinking. Friends who are members of comic troupes in the city came with him to the hotel – as well as plenty of “women friends”. 

When the time came to checkout staff gave him a bill under the name of “Mister” but he asked them to change it to “Doctor” and said he would settle everything by bank transfer. 

Efforts to track him down failed and the 48,225 baht bill went unpaid. In his room staff found a case and a few other small items. 

Contact with his friends yielded nothing. 

The manageress said a lot of money was involved and they had provided great service to the customer. She admitted that the hotel had been remiss in its procedures. 

A source who is a friend of the man told Sanook that he is known as “Lek” – he is not a doctor, not a researcher and not a civil servant. 

He is a boastful man who is a serial fraudster who has done countless cons including renting cars then pawning them. 

He would commit crimes then go into hiding until cases blew over. 

 Sanook

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