Two women to appear in court for fraudulent Thailand trip

Two women who allegedly defrauded 80 people of R1.9m for a promised trip to Thailand that never happened were arrested in the Western Cape on Friday. 

The women, aged 53 and 59, will appear in the Strand magistrate’s court on Monday to face charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. 

“Investigation reveals that between June 2022 and July 2024, a total number of 80 victims saw an advertisement on social media platforms about a trip to Thailand,” police spokesperson Lt-Col Malcolm Pojie said. 

In the advertisement, it was stated each person should pay R26,000, which would include travelling as well as accommodation costs. Almost all the victims paid the required amount as per agreement into the bank accounts of the suspects. 

“When the victims realised that the trip is not going to materialise, they reported it to different police stations across the country as far as Gauteng, the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.” 

The cases were centralised in the Western Cape and on completion, the suspects were interviewed and unable to provide a satisfactory explanation of what had happened to the money. 

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