Hundreds of runners filed complaints today with Prawet police in Bangkok, claiming that they had been cheated by the organiser of the Suan Luang Rama 9 run, which did not take place.
About 1,800 competitors had registered to take part and made advance payments to the organizer, who is a businessman who claimed that he had distributed T-shirts, wristwatches and hats to about 600 runners, according to the police.
One of the complainants said she joined the event, called “Run for Destination 2025”, after she learned about it from other runners on Facebook, adding that she believed the sponsors to be credible companies and transferred 2,000 baht to them to be a ‘VIP’ participant.
The woman added that she spoke to the organisers’ staff about the souvenirs for the runners and other activities planned at the venue.
When she arrived there this morning, though, she said that she did not find what she expected. For instance, there were no snacks or drinking water for the runners, no time clock and no organised activities at all.
There was only the start gate, with an orange banner, featuring the name and date of the event and the names of some sponsors, said the runner, adding that she talked with some of the other participants and they soon realised that they had been cheated.
Pol Col Tosaphol Ampaiphiphatkul, the superintendent of Prawet police, said that they are collecting evidence to determine whether the event was a fraud, adding that, if there is sufficient evidence, appropriate charges would be filed against the organizer.
A member of staff of the event said that there were about 60 of them, deployed at various locations along the route of the run and at the Rama 9 public park, to look after the competitors and to guide them in the right direction. He claimed that they were each paid 500 baht.
One of the event staffers, “Paneesara”, claimed that this was the first time that she had worked with the organiser, who approached her with the offer. She said the event was originally scheduled for January 26 last year, but was postponed until today.
She claimed that, on May 2t, she was sued by the organiser, who accused her of cheating over the sale of about 100 T-shirts, worth about 600 baht each.
