World · East Asia & Pacific · 4 hrs ago
Passport error leaves Chelyabinsk woman detained in Thailand for three days
Polina, a 21-year-old from Chelyabinsk, was travelling to Thailand for her honeymoon when Thai border officials found an error in her passport number.
The reports describe the mistake as an extra or mismatched digit, although they do not give the same explanation of where it appeared.
She was refused entry and spent three days in a Thai detention centre.
Polina said she had little access to food and water and that her husband sent money for a guard to buy her supplies.
She paid for a ticket back to Russia, where she quickly received a replacement passport and later flew back to Thailand to join her husband.
She has filed a complaint with the Chelyabinsk regional police, and officials say they are checking the case.
A 21-year-old woman from Chelyabinsk was held in a Thai airport detention facility for three days after officials found an error in her passport.
The passport number contained an extra digit or did not match across parts of the document, according to the reports.
Polina said she was kept in cold, damp conditions and had no food or drinking water unless her husband sent money for supplies.
She paid for a ticket back to Russia, obtained a replacement passport and flew back to Thailand to rejoin her husband.
She said she sent a pretrial claim to the Chelyabinsk regional police department, which said it was checking the case.
- Who
- Polina, a 21-year-old tourist from Chelyabinsk.
- What
- Thai officials detained her for three days and refused her entry after finding an error in her passport.
- When
- After she arrived in Thailand on her honeymoon in August.
- Where
- An airport detention facility in Thailand.
- Why
- Her passport contained an extra digit or a mismatch between the numbers in the document.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Polina got married, according to 74.ru.
Polina and her husband travelled to Thailand for their honeymoon, four days after the wedding, according to 74.ru.
Officials detained Polina and held her in an airport facility for three days.
Polina obtained a replacement passport and flew back to Thailand to join her husband.
The newlyweds arrived home, according to 74.ru.
- Detention
- Three days
- Tourist
- Polina, 21, from Chelyabinsk
- Passport problem
- An extra digit or mismatch in the passport number
- Wedding date
- 7 August
- Reported travel costs
- About 200,000 rubles for tickets
- Claim
- Sent a pretrial claim to the Chelyabinsk regional police department
3 sources
What people are saying
They put me in a cell with antisocial people and a shared open toilet.
My husband gave my kind guard money, and she bought me sandwiches and water.
The document was promptly replaced by staff of the migration issues department. A decision will be made in accordance with the law based on the results of the check.