Police have nabbed two executives of a well-known bridal studio for allegedly cheating hundreds of brides and grooms out of more than 7 million baht.
The arrest followed complaints that were made by over 150 couples who accused the studio of failing to deliver wedding gowns and suits in time, delaying talks on ceremony plans and missing appointments of pre-wedding photo shoots.
Police charged two suspects with cheating and entering false information into the computer system, acting Immigration Bureau chief Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn said on Thursday.
The suspects are Panvisit Chongraksantikun, the owner of Panvisit studio, and Nukun Manuloet, the studio manager.
Mr Panvisit, 36, was arrested on Wednesday at Soi Suan Phak 19 in Taling Chan, while Mr Nukun, 36, was picked up in Chaiyaphum's Kaeng Khro district the same day.
The suspects said there was a problem with the management of Siam Piti Co, which runs the bridal studio.
The studio is faced with shortages of both staff and wedding dresses, but continued to receive orders from customers, Mr Panvisit said.
He agreed to compensate all affected customers. However, the owner said the studio cannot afford to pay everyone at the same time because the business has been flooded with complaints.
"I also need to take some time to calculate the amount of damages," Mr Panvisit said.
Damages are estimated to be around seven million baht.
Wutthichai Prasoetkueakun, one of the complainants, said on Thursday the victims are demanding a refund within seven days, because their wedding schedules could not be changed and they need money to rectify the problems that ensued.
He and other victims lodged complaints after they learned of the alleged cheating from media reports, which also alleged that Siam Piti's company registration had been withdrawn.
An initial investigation found that four bridal studios are linked to the company.
Investigators will find out whether the company was involved in other fraud, Pol Maj Gen Surachate said.
