Dating app crimes: Bangkok police warn against predator with extensive criminal record

A public alert regarding an increase in dating app crimes has been issued by the Metropolitan Police Bureau. Vigilance has been urged due to a man capitalising on a dating application to lure in, rape, and subsequently rob women. The individual has a criminal record spanning 15 years.

The man, known under the pseudonym “Tum Chonburi,” but legally named Wattana Srikhaney, has been found to utilise the Omi app for his sinister aims. By cultivating an image of a “nice guy,” he lures his victims into a false sense of security, offering to meet and take them on a date to a designated location. However, rather than the agreed-upon destination, he diverts to a different locale where he subsequently sexually assaults them. Shockingly, in one dating app crime incident, a woman was found raped and abandoned naked at a rice field’s perimeter, reported Bangkok Post.

Further to these horrific dating app crimes, the victims were often left stripped of their possessions, including cash, gold bracelets, mobile phones and other valuable items. The authorities speculate that the extent of his grisly deeds extends beyond the known victims, suspecting that some affected women may have been hesitant to report the incident to the police, or uncertain about the man’s true identity.

Wattana’s criminal record is extensively documented by authorities, detailing the following offences:

• Rape in Phanat Nikhom district of Chon Buri on January 29, 2009.
• A Theft in Phanat Nikhom on February 19, 2009.
• Another rape in Phanat Nikhom district on September 11, 2011.
• Drug use charges from two separate incidents in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani, and in Si Racha district, Chon Buri, on July 13 and June 3 2017 respectively.
• A rape followed by a robbery in the Chorakhe Noi area within Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district on April 27 this year.
• A recent sexual assault in Ko Chan district, Chon Buri, on May 14 this year

Currently, the police are undertaking efforts to apprehend Wattana. The public remains on high alert to prevent further victimisation caused by dating app crimes.