A British woman who claimed she was unfairly jailed in Thailand after reportedly confronting a client who owed her £30,000 was allegedly caught on CCTV with a fellow Briton who threatened to ‘f**k up’ the man in his home.
Rachel Stallard, a private-estates consultant from Bournemouth, said she spent ‘four days and nights’ in a cell after a dispute with a client allegedly led to her being arrested and charged with ‘seven of the most serious charges there are in Thailand’.
She claimed in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that she flew to the country to collect £30,000 in unpaid wages from the ‘millionaire client’, who became ‘irritated’ she had approached him for the money even though all the work had been completed.
Thai police today branded her a liar and released CCTV footage that the force says shows Ms Stallard in the alleged victim’s apartment saying ‘I can do what I like’.
A male alleged accomplice is then seen in the video wrestling the victim, Stefano Schiavi, 47, from Italy, and pinning him down with his knee while choking him and shouting: ‘I will f***ing choke you’.
Ms Stallard walked over and appeared to hand the man a long white object, seemingly made of plastic.
Thai police said that both Ms Stallard and the male suspect attacked the victim, who suffered severe injuries across his neck and chest.
MailOnline has approached Ms Stallard for comment.
Ms Stallard said in her LinkedIn post that she was thrown in a Thai prison cell ‘for four days and nights’ with no food or water before being forced to bribe a police guard to give her scraps.
‘I sat in that jail cell for days, not knowing the time of day, imagining what my life was about to become and it was terrifying,’ Ms Stallard wrote in her post. ‘[The authorities] were useless, even though they knew the charges were totally fake.’
Police Colonel Pansa Amarapitak, superintendent of Thong Lor Police Station, said: ‘Regarding the claim, that Rachel Stallard was put in jail for four days and nights, it is not true.
‘She was arrested around 7 pm on November 18, 2024, under the arrest warrant issued by Bangkok South Criminal Court for interrogation.
‘On the morning of November 20, she was transferred from police custody to Bangkok South Criminal Court, which is where her arrest warrant was issued.
‘We placed her in detention under the court at 11 am before she applied for bail on the same day. She was actually detained for under 48 hours.
‘Because the information she posted online was not true, we will take legal action against her.
‘As for the case, we have gathered evidence and will submit the opinion to the inquiry officer to proceed with charges, including theft by violence in a dwelling, attempting to commit theft by violence in a dwelling, trespassing, illegal detention, causing injury to another person, and extortion.
‘The victim has a doctor’s certificate confirming injuries to his neck and chest, with no weapon used, but rather being hit by two suspects who are now under legal action.
‘As for feeding suspects under detention, we provided three meals a day, with the last meal at 4pm.
‘She was arrested on November 18 and felt hungry around 7pm, so we contacted the UK Embassy. They contacted us and sent an interpreter before she handed over money to the UK Embassy staff to buy her a meal at Burger King.
‘Regarding the use of a phone in the cell, she asked for permission from an officer, saying that she needed to call her relatives, lawyer, and the embassy before the officer took her phone back after a while.
‘The police did not take any bribe. If it is true, she can report that to me immediately, and I will take action against those responsible.’
Ms Stallard claims she was found guilty of two of the seven charges, ‘before even giving a statement’.
She said she has lost £14,000 on her bail and £24,000 in legal fees and is awaiting her trial in six to eight years.
In the meantime, the consultant said she spent £70,000 to be able to go back home and is ‘broke and in debt’, trying to rebuild her life.
She added: ‘I had to call my 80-year-old mum and explain I was probably going to prison for 20 years, and to tell my daughter as I only had the one call.
‘All because a client who has millions didn’t want to pay his staff wages or my fees.’
Ms Stallard claimed Thai police were paid by her client to charge her, and there is no proof of any of the charges.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: ‘We supported a British woman who was arrested in Thailand and were in contact with the local authorities.’
