'I was thrown in Thai jail because of embassy error'
A British martial arts expert claims he was beaten, shackled and imprisoned in Thailand after a British Embassy official mistakenly told police he was travelling on a false passport.
Simon Burrowes says he was treated like a drugs smuggler and thrown into a Thai prison for more than three weeks.
The kickboxing and karate instructor, from Wembley said staff at the embassy in Bangkok took 11 days to admit they were wrong but he was then held for two more weeks after being charged with insulting immigration officials.
He said: "I was arrested on a Friday getting my flight to Britain. Thai immigration officials said they were suspicious of my passport. When they checked with the embassy an official told them my passport number did not exist.
"When I spoke to the embassy official he must have known I was British. I told them the passport was legal.
"He said it did not exist. I begged him to double check. But he refused because the embassy closed at Friday midday for their long weekend. They said they would prioritise the matter the following week, so I was sent to jail. But officials had all day in London to check me out. I cannot believe they could not have done it."
The 44-year-old, who was in Phuket to study kickboxing, added: "From that moment I was treated as someone less than human. I was handcuffed to a Thai and sent to court. As I was being led into the court I was beaten by an official with a leather strap. Then they sent me to jail because I did not have £2,000 for bail."
A charge of travelling on a false passport has been dropped but Thai immigration police have charged Mr Burrowes with verbally abusing its officers.
He said: "They kept me waiting an hour studying my passport with a magnifying glass. I told them I would miss my flight. They told me the flight could not leave without their permission. But it did.
"I was angry. I grabbed my passport and walked out of the immigration area, saying, 'I am a British citizen who has come to your country to spend my money. Don't treat me like a 'f**king idiot.'"
Mr Burrowes demanded to speak to the chief of police or head of immigration. Thai immigration police say it was they who were called "f**king idiots".
Mr Burrowes has been released on bail but his case for insulting an immigration official could take a year to go to court.
He said: "The closest thing the embassy have come to an apology is a statement from their local consular officer who said 'I can empathise with your self-righteousness.' He said it was a one in a thousand glitch. But they could do little else to help me further."
An embassy spokesman "What I could say is that we provided efficient and prompt consular assistance. The issue was resolved as swiftly as possible."
