Pattaya raid busts South Korean gambling in coffee shop

Authorities in Pattaya arrested 10 South Korean nationals during a raid on a coffee shop that doubled as a gambling den. The police operation took place yesterday evening on the second floor of Sand Coffee in Bang Lamung district.

Bang Lamung district chief Veekit Manarojkiit and Pattaya Police Colonel Navin Thirawit led the raid at 9.26pm. Upon entering, they discovered a group of foreigners engaged in a poker game.

Ten South Korean gamblers were apprehended alongside Phuek Prasomphan, a 46 year old Thai man who confessed to owning the establishment. Authorities seized a gambling table, decks of poker cards, poker chips, and approximately 160,000 baht in cash.

“The South Koreans were asked to show their passports, and it was confirmed that none had entered the country illegally.”

All individuals involved were then transferred to Pattaya City police station for further legal proceedings, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, Thai Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat confirmed that the government-proposed integrated entertainment complex development will have a casino component that covers no more than 5% of the project area. This development project will not only comprise gambling venues and hotels but also other significant investment components.

Julapun emphasised that the proportions per complex will be determined by the governmental entities involved in the project. Drawing parallels with Singapore’s entertainment complex scheme, he noted that the law in Singapore also restricts the gambling area to no more than 5% of the project area.

In other news, a man in his 20s, one of the trio suspected of a gruesome murder, has been apprehended in South Korea. The victim’s body had been discovered encased in concrete within a large plastic container, submerged in the Map Prachan reservoir in Chon Buri.

The arrest took place last Sunday, May 12, at the suspect’s residence in Gyeongnam province, according to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.