The Thai embassy in Japan has posted a warning on its Facebook page, reminding Thai tourists about the reality of going to jail if they break the law in Japan.
The embassy revealed the story of a Thai woman who stole goods worth a few thousand baht from a popular theme park in Japan. She was caught by a shop assistant and returned the goods, thinking that she might just face a fine.
Instead, she was taken to a police station and charged. Generally it took around 45 days for the the prosecutor to forward such a case to the court.
The illustration posted on the Facebook page of Thai Embassy in Tokyo indicates the shoplifting activity.
However, it has already been more than two months and the woman does not know when she will be able to return home. She cannot leave until the court has passed judgement.
The embassy said the woman realised once she was taken to the police station that the money could not buy everything, particularly righteousness.
She was ashamed to tell her story but allowed the embassy to reveal the case as an example to remind Thai tourists not to break the law in Japan, because the consequences might be much more than expected.
The embassy said it has no right to intervene in the legal process in Japan, so Thai visitors should be aware that if they do something illegal they will be punished under Japanese law.
The warning comes as the number of Thais visiting Japan continues to rise. A total of 299,100 Thais descended on Japan from January to March, up by 28.9% year-on-year, the sixth-largest group of foreign arrivals, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) reported.
JNTO is sticking to its projection of 700,000 Thai visitors this year, up from last year's record of 657,600. It expects the number of Thais visiting their shores annually to reach one million by 2020.