Police say PEYA owners to be charged with fraud

Rhea Donna and Peter Brian Boyce

By Vir B. Lumicao

A charge of conspiracy to defraud is being prepared by investigators against PEYA Travel owners Peter Brian Boyce and his wife Rhea Donna Bayona-Boyce, according to  the Hong Kong police.

This came as the number of customers whose travel plans were fouled up by the air-ticket fiasco that unraveled just before Christmas last year surpassed the 1,000 mark, an officer of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section said.

A spokesman for the Police Public Relations Bureau said in response to an inquiry from The SUN that the case will be filed in court against the spouses as soon as their investigations are completed.

He also said no further arrests have been made since Bayona-Boyce, known as Yanyan to many in the community, was arrested in her Wanchai flat on Christmas Day. Police nabbed her Australian husband shortly after Yanyan was released on Dec 27.

The authorities are still looking for PEYA marketing manager Arnold Grospe, who Consulate sources believe has fled to Macau, and possibly flown home from there.

Hundreds failed to board their flights after
airlines cancelled Peya's bookings

The PPRB spokesman said the Boyce couple reported to the Central Police District Crime Squad in early January and were instructed to return again early this month. The police bail for their temporary release had been extended as investigations were still ongoing, the spokesman said.

As of Jan 30, a total of 1,118 PEYA customers had gone to the Consulate to file complaints and seek a refund from the travel agency, ATN officer Danny Baldon told The SUN.

He said many more customers were going to the ATN everyday to lodge their complaints.

The affected customers, mainly domestic workers, included those who had booked tickets for the Lunar New Year holiday this month, the Lenten season in March and the graduation period in May.

PEYA was shut down on Dec. 19 in the wake of the ticketing fiasco, and its signage on its third-floor shop at World-Wide Plaza in Central has now been torn down.