Ratchaburi man arrested for art toy fraud and military evasion

Officers from the Phetkasem Police Station apprehended a man from Ratchaburi who had been evading military service and was wanted on fraud charges. The individual had been tricking people into buying art toys via a fake Facebook page, resulting in significant financial losses for the victims. The suspect has been handed over to Pak Tho Police Station for further legal proceedings.

Phramot Janboonkaew, chief of Phetkasem Police Station, along with Thawatchai Thipwong, an investigator, led the arrest of 24 year old Phanthawut Ponsrithong from Ratchaburi province. Phanthawut was apprehended based on a warrant issued by the Thonburi Criminal Court, numbered 778/2567, dated August 28. The charges include fraudulently or deceitfully inputting false data into a computer system, which could potentially harm the public.

Phanthawut was detained in the Moo 3 area of Pak Tho sub-district, Pak Tho district, Ratchaburi province. The arrest followed his activities on Facebook under the name Nantakan Sangthong and on Instagram, where he set up a page to sell art toys, dolls, and collectable items to interested collectors. Several victims were deceived into transferring money to Phanthawut’s account but were subsequently blocked from contacting him, leaving them unable to recover their funds.

The victims, upon realising they had been defrauded, gathered evidence, including screenshots of the Facebook page and bank account details under Phanthawut’s name. They then filed complaints and posted warnings online to alert others about the scam.

In the investigation, Phanthawut admitted to having another arrest warrant for similar fraud charges in Songkhla province. Additionally, he confessed to evading military service for approximately two months, reported KhaoSod.

The arresting team handed Phanthawut over to investigators at Pak Tho Police Station in Ratchaburi province to proceed with legal actions. They also coordinated with military officials to take custody of Phanthawut for further action regarding his evasion of military service.