The moment an Australian tourist allegedly walked out of a tattoo studio in Thailand without paying has been captured on CCTV.
Caden Davies, 18, an artist at Dragon Ink Tattoo studio in Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, claims he worked for six hours on correcting a tattoo of a samurai mask but never received full payment from the unnamed man.
‘I could not remember his name. He said he was a farmer from Australia, and that he came with his wife and little daughter,’ he said.
‘We agreed on a price of 25,000 baht ($AU1,195) for a correction job.
‘I started tattooing at 3pm and finished at 9pm. It took around six hours for a picture of a samurai mask on his arm.’
The tourist had booked for November 16, but never showed up, leaving Mr Davies waiting the ‘entire day’.
And when the tattoo was finished the following evening, the man told the artist he couldn’t pay straight away.
‘I asked him to pay, but he said his card could not withdraw money and he would pay the next day. I let him leave,’ Mr Davies said.
An Australian tourist (pictured, right) spent six hours being tattooed in Patong, Thailand, before he allegedly walked out of the studio without paying
‘I trusted him, but I have never experienced anything like this before.’
CCTV footage shows the bald Australian putting a black t-shirt on after his tattoo.
He can be seen chatting amiably to the employees before walking out the door.
Mr Davies said the man returned two days later and settled some of his $1,195 bill.
‘On the morning of November 18, he came back to say he was leaving Thailand on the 19,’ the artist said.
‘He paid me 4,000 baht ($191), on top of his 6,000 baht ($286) deposit.
‘He still owes us 15,000 baht ($717). He said he would go withdraw more money but then he disappeared. I was busy at the time, so I did not follow up.’
Mr Davies said his studio has not filed a police report ‘yet’ but issued a warning for other local businesses.
‘We want other stores to beware of this kind of tourist. We do not want this to happen anywhere else,’ he said.
Tattoo artist Caden Davies claimed he still owes the studio 15,000 baht ($717)
Daily Mail has contacted Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the alleged incident.
It comes only weeks after an Australian man was arrested for an alleged shoplifting spree in Thailand.
Liam Allan Lakeman, 25, was dramatically pinned to the ground by an off-duty officer at Central Phuket Festival, a large shopping centre, on November 1.
Thai police allege Lakeman was caught on CCTV stuffing a football jersey under his shirt in an attempt to pay off his credit card debt.
Interview footage released by authorities showed Lakeman allegedly confessed to ‘taking’ items from the store.
If convicted, he could face up to three years behind bars in Thailand and a fine of up to 6,000 baht ($286).
Locals on the island of Phuket have complained about ‘over-tourism’ due to the Thai government’s visa-free scheme.