A popular Facebook group for Bangkok ex-pats has received information that an 83-year-old British ex-pat was being held hostage in the city whilst Thais stole his weekly pension.
“Declan James Theodore” says that he drove to Samut Sakhon near Bangkok after a concerned British family made claims about their elderly relative, and found the desperate pensioner being held in a small, grubby room.
The man, only named as Ron, is an ex-soldier from Brighton. He said he was only being given a small amount of food to survive on as Thais emptied his bank account via an ATM.
An appeal fund has been set up to raise £2,000 to get Ron home and £1000 was quickly donated.
Declan made the claims via a vlog he made whilst driving back to help Ron, who has been in Thailand ‘for a long time.’
Curiously, Declan makes no mention of reporting the ‘kidnapping’ to the Bangkok police.
He does say that he has now rescued the old man and that he is cleaned up, safe and 200km away from Bangkok.
