Former Thailand athlete turns scammer, stealing from woman

Police in Bangkok arrested a former national athlete for allegedly befriending a Thai woman on a dating app and stealing her valuables after spending a few days together. The thief confessed that he resorted to theft due to his need for money to fuel his online gambling habit.

The victim, a Thai woman from the Isaan province of Buriram, filed a complaint against the 27 year old man named Suppakit “Golf” Chandara for stealing her iPad Air 4 and a grey GPX motorcycle at Mueang Buriram Police Station.

The victim revealed that she met Golf on a dating site in November last year. Golf subsequently moved into her home in Buriram on December 19 but vanished with her possessions just four days later, on December 23.

Following an investigation into the incident, officers uncovered that Suppakit, also known as Golf Flintstones, was a former badminton player. Despite being ranked among the top three national junior badminton players, Suppakit did not pursue a career in sports further.

Officers discovered that Golf left Buriram to hide in Bangkok, so they coordinated with the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (IDMB) and managed to arrest Golf at an Internet cafe in the Din Daeng neighbourhood of Bangkok on February 2.

Golf admitted to the theft, saying he wanted money for online gambling. He confessed that he sold the tablet for 8,000 baht and the motorcycle for 10,000 baht before travelling to Bangkok. He spent all his money on gambling and could not afford a place to stay, so he slept in the Internet cafe.

Golf added that he won several badminton competitions until he got a scholarship at his university. However, Golf decided to abandon his studies and become a badminton coach instead, saving money and investing in the sports equipment shop, which was not successful.

As well as running a romance scam, Golf also tricked two victims into transferring money to him because his name was on the blacklisted seller’s website.