Japanese man loses 310,000 baht to visa scam and corrupt police

A Japanese man filed a complaint with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) after losing 300,000 baht in a visa scam and an additional 10,000 baht to a corrupt Thai cyber cop.

The victim, 51 year old Shinichi Maeda, who runs a clothing export business in Thailand, revealed to CIB police that he has been living in Thailand for 20 years and running his business in the country for about 14 years. Seeking a long-term visa, he hired a Thai man named Jakkapong to handle the process.

Jakkapong claimed he could offer Shinichi a visa for a permanent stay in Thailand for just 20,000 baht. Shinichi paid Jakkapong the amount in 2019 but never received the promised visa.

Jakkapong repeatedly requested amounts between 20,000 and 30,000 baht from Shinichi, claiming they were for operational costs. Shinichi transferred money to Jakkapong 16 times, resulting in a total loss of 300,000 baht.

Jakkapong falsely attributed the delay in processing the visa to the pandemic and other reasons until Shinichi decided to take the matter to the Immigration Bureau in 2023.

Immigration police reviewed Shinichi’s visa and discovered that he failed to submit some documents and engaged in bribery of officials. Shinichi asked the immigration police for advice on how to resolve the issue and renew his visa and they directed him to consult with the cyber police.

Shinichi then met with a cyber police officer, who summoned Jakkapong for questioning and drafted a loan agreement between Shinichi and Jakkapong, in which Jakkapong agreed to return all the money he had swindled from Shinichi.

Unexpectedly, this police officer demanded a bribe of 2,000 baht and an operational cost of 3,000 baht from Shinichi. The officer also borrowed 5,000 baht from Shinichi, promising to repay it soon.

Shinichi found that his issue remained unresolved and grew concerned that the suspects might physically assault him or that he could be deported and banned from the country.

Channel 7 reported that Jakkapong was recently charged in April by Petchkasem Police Station for running a visa scam on a Chinese national. Many victims have previously filed complaints against him.

However, there has been no report of the next step in the legal process in this case, and the identity of the corrupt cop has not been made public.