An unfortunate incident occurred last month when a Thai tourist visited Tokyo Disneyland opened a box of cookies in a shop and started munching on them without paying for them.
This clueless Thai tourist, whose name was not revealed, was arrested on July 25 for eating the cookies without paying for them. The charge was theft, according to an announcement from Protection of Thai Nationals Abroad Division.
The division warned Thais in a Facebook post not to taste or eat food that is for sale before buying it.
At the Japanese police station, the Thai tourist explained that he did not mean to steal the cookies. He explained to the Japanese police that, in Thailand, shoppers can eat food in a store before paying at the register, reported Thai PBS.
This is another example of, just because you can do it in your country, doesn’t mean you can do it anywhere. This is very similar to the Chinese tourist situations that Thais have complained about in their own country.
It’s also been pointed out that, that isn’t actually normal in Thailand. Unless a food is clearly marked as a “sample” or “tester,” it’s highly unusual to eat food in a shop before you have paid for it.
However, in Japan the laws are different. By Japanese law, a suspected thief is held in a cell at the police station while a 10-day investigation is performed. After that, the prosecutor decides to move forward or drop the case.
To make a case like this even more complicated, Thais can vacation in Japan for 15 days without a visa. If they get arrested near the end of their stay, or need to be held for more than 15 days, they will face a new charge of overstaying their legal limit in the country as well. This can often result in a ban from the country for one year.
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