Chinese Pattaya nightclub owner nowhere in sight as cops seize token assets

Jon WhitmanSaturday, December 17, 2022Last Updated: Monday, December 25, 2023

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Chinese Pattaya nightclub owner nowhere in sight as cops seize token assets

A Pattaya Police attempt to dismantle the drug networks of a Chinese crime boss has failed to apprehend that star of the show. At least the police managed to get their hands on a few of the nightclub owner’s assets worth a paltry 50 million baht (US$1.5 million).

Sirisa 16, Chonburi - 9 Houses for sale and rent | Thailand-Property — The desirable suburban residence in Pattaya’s chique-yet-dull Sirisa 16 housing estate in the Bang Lamung district comes with its own drug dealer, or at least once did.

It’s not quite as exciting as it sounds. They didn’t take the nightclubs, just a couple of old houses in an unattractive estate.

Pol Maj Gen Chaipot Suwannarak said yesterday that officers had posted forfeiture notices outside two buildings in the Sirisa 16 housing estate in Pattaya. Both belong to Chinese national Yang Zhiguo, wanted for drug offences. How a Chinese national came to own property in Thailand nor quite what the police meant by “own” was not made clear.

เสนอผวจ.สั่งปิด 5 ปี ผับดังเมืองพัทยา — Club One Pattaya was for reason or reasons unknown, not seized by police.

Investigators claim that Yang used drug money to buy the houses and registered them as offices of real estate companies. Yang, however, did not operate any real estate business. Instead, he invested with colleagues in the Bone and Club One in Pattaya, catering to the unique tastes of Pattaya’s Chinese visitors.

Bone Pattaya | SKAM — Police raided Bone in 2020 and some arrests were made at the time. Investigators learned then that Yang was the co-owner of the nightclub.

Besides the two houses, police also seized two bank accounts holding more than 14 million baht (US$400,000), five mobile phones, one computer and some untaxed foreign liquor. The total value was estimated at 50 million baht.

To make an already gripping narrative more enthralling yet, Yang was nowhere to be found, perhaps due to the Thai police habit of informing the bad guys seven days in advance before making seizures.

Jon Whitman

Jon Whitman is a seasoned journalist and author who has been living and working in Asia for more than two decades. Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Jon has been at the forefront of some of the most important stories coming out of China in the past decade. After a long and successful career in East sia, Jon is now semi-retired and living in the Outer Hebrides. He continues to write and is an avid traveller and photographer, documenting his experiences across the world.