CHON BURI, Feb 20 – Police are looking for a Chinese tour guide who swindled and abandoned 33 Chinese tourists in this province’s famous resort of Jomtien Beach, police said Friday.

The 33 tourists, all from Zhejiang province, told police that they had bought a package tour and paid 2,399 yuan each, equivalent to about Bt12,000, arriving in Thailand on Monday.

They said they arrived in Pattaya on Wednesday and stayed at a hotel in Jomtien.

Their 20-year-old Chinese guide, a woman, then demanded they pay an extra Bt6,900 each. While about 20 of them agreed, the rest refused, police said.

All the tourists were then abandoned by the guide, police said, adding that the tour company would have to take the responsibility while the guide would face a lawsuit. The authorities have also considered that she had tarnished Thailand’s image

By Friday, the tourist company representative informed police that the firm would take no responsibility for the guide’s illegal actions. The company had tried to contact the guide but failed.

The tourism firm told police that it would, however, take care of the tourists, police said.

MCOT