SYDNEY, May 19, 2009 (AFP) - An Australian woman said Tuesday she had been wrongfully locked up in a Thai prison for allegedly stealing a bar mat, in a row a senior official here said could hurt tourism in the Asian nation.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Melbourne mother of four Annice Smoel would receive Australian consular assistance as she fights charges over the incident on the resort island of Phuket, which could lead to a five-year jail term.
Smoel, 36, said she spent four nights in a cramped cell with three other inmates and had her passport confiscated after undercover police arrested her as she left the island's Aussie Bar on May 3.
Smoel, who was eventually released on bail after being charged with theft, said the mat had been jokingly placed in her bag by a friend and security footage would show she was innocent.
"One of the girls that was involved went down to the police station on the Sunday morning and confessed to the crime and apologised and they told her to go away, they didn't care," she told commercial radio.
"I've been held here for something I didn't do. They know I didn't do it." Smoel is reportedly facing a wait of up to 14 weeks before her case is heard in court.
The bar's owner, Australian Steve Wood, said police initially intended only to chastise Smoel but the situation escalated when she began to abuse them and tried to flee.
"She did a runner on them ... the police had to chase her down the beach," Wood said. "I think this is what the problem is. It's more of an attitude problem than a crime problem." Rudd said consular officials were "on top of this case" and providing every level of available assistance to Smoel and her family.
Victorian Premier John Brumby, the top official in Smoel's home state, criticised the Thai response.
"I would have thought for the Thai government and the Thai authorities at a time of the global financial crisis when everybody wants tourism, this isn't going to help them," he told reporters.
"Who would go to Thailand for a holiday if you could get arrested for having fun in a bar?" he added.
Tourism in Thailand has been hit hard by political protest campaigns since late last year, including anti-government riots last month that left two people dead.
The Thai government has forecast 3.2 million fewer visitors to Thailand as a result of the unrest and a 2.91 billion US dollar (S$4.3 billion) hit to tourism income.
