Taiwanese suing Elite Card firm
Thailand Privilege Card Co Ltd (TPC), a quasi-state agency in charge of selling Thailand Elite Cards to wealthy tourists worldwide, is fighting a claim by a group of Taiwanese millionaires that the company took their money but failed to issue their cards.
Four millionaires recently filed a civil lawsuit naming TPC and its executives as defendants. President Choksiri Rodboonpha, who is one of the five defendants, said yesterday that his company had nothing to do with the "mishap" involving the four Taiwanese. The other four defendants are TPC itself; its sales director, Chansak Chooprasit; Bangkok company Fly High Travel; and Kulpassorn Temsaksanga, an executive of Fly High Travel. TPC's announcement came one day after another Bangkok company, Thai RC Travel, sued the Elite Card company, claiming damages of Bt104 million on behalf of the four Taiwanese. Choksiri said the four paid Bt1 million each in March for four Elite Cards. The cards confer special privileges for premium tourists. They paid the amount to Fly High Travel Service, a subcontractor of Thailand Privilege Card's main licensee, Patco Siam Holding Co Ltd. However, in the same month, Patco's licence was revoked, because its sales were below target. As a result, Fly High's subcontractor position was also cancelled. Choksiri said TPC received no money from Fly High, so it was unable to issue the cards to the four Taiwanese. "We will offer them some privileges, but we cannot issue cards on these grounds," he said, adding that Thailand Privilege Card would set up a committee to investigate the possibility of wrongdoing by the staff. Thailand Privilege Card has 352 members, or 22 per cent of its total membership, from Taiwan. The country is the third-biggest market for Elite Cards, following South Korea and Japan.
Suchat Sritama The Nation
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