Millions of tourists from China prepaid for their tours but police allege they were strong-armed into selected, over-priced shops providing kickbacks to the "zero-dollar tour" operators. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)The Criminal Court on Tuesday approved the detention for 12 days of a Bangkok mother and son accused of running illegal and highly lucrative 'zero-dollar' tours for Chinese visitors. Two large-scale tour operators connected to the company were detained in Bangkok's prisons on Tuesday pending investigation. The zero-dollar tours enable Chinese tourists to pre-pay all costs of a vacation in Thailand, including hotels, meals and tours with the Thai companies. Police also claim the zero-dollar tours put pressure on other shops not to sell similar products.

Source: Bangkok Post September 13, 2016 19:18 UTC