Chinese man arrested in Thailand for deceiving Chinese students
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) arrested a Chinese man, previously employed at the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing, for participating in unlawful activities connected to visa issuance.
The arrest was made today by the Immigration Bureau and other relevant RTP officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok. The Chinese man was identified as Tee and reported to be a former administrator at the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing.
The RTP reported that nine Chinese students applied to study at the Durakij Pundit University in Bangkok and applied for a non-immigration visa at the embassy.
Due to the high cost associated with this particular visa, Tee devised a plan to swindle money from these students. Instead of granting them the requested non-immigration visas, Tee issued them tourist visas, which carried a lower fee and pocketed the excess payment for himself.
The affected Chinese students encountered difficulties with their visas and stay in Thailand. So, they filed a complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand. As a result, an investigation was launched, which unveiled Tee’s fraudulent activities.
According to the police report, Tee escaped from China on December 28 of last year. He arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport today, but the details of his destination prior to his arrest were not disclosed.
The suspected Chinese man denied all allegations. He is now under the custody of the Crime Suppression Division. He was initially charged with violating Section 157 of the Criminal law by wrongfully and dishonestly exercising or not exercising a duty as an authority. The penalty will be imprisonment for one to 10 years, a fine from 2,000 to 20,000 baht, or both.
Tee was also charged with violating Section 169/12 by forging documents related to a visa. The penalty will be imprisonment from one to 10 years and a fine from 20,000 to 200,000 baht.
Another crime involving authority and Chinese citizens was reported four days ago when an officer from the Thai Marine Department smuggled eight Chinese nationals into the country by illegally entering via the Chiang Rai border in northern Thailand.
In February, the RTP arrested two Thai men and one Thai woman after they used three vehicles to smuggle 14 Chinese people into the country. This illicit activity was intercepted in the central province of Nakhon Sawan, while the smugglers were on a journey to a hotel in Chiang Mai.
