Thai man swindles 3 million baht from Singaporean businessman

A Thai man willingly turned himself in at Nimit Mai Police Station after orchestrating a scam that defrauded a Singaporean businessman of 3 million baht. The scam involved enticing the victim to invest in the man’s business in exchange for a long-stay visa in Thailand.

Toward the end of last year, the Singaporean’s Thai wife and a local lawyer complained to the 57 year old scammer, identified as Somthop, at Nimit Mai Police Station. The woman explained that Somthop had deceived her 50 year old husband, Pete, by offering to assist him in obtaining a long-stay visa for Thailand, knowing Pete’s desire for an extended stay in the country due to his frequent business travels between Thailand and Singapore.

Somthop presented himself as a fellow businessman capable of leveraging his own business to facilitate Pete’s visa. He manipulated Pete into believing that investing in his business was necessary to fulfil the visa requirements. Assuring Pete that the money would be returned once the visa was acquired, Somthop managed to dupe him.

Initially, Pete transferred 1 million baht to Somthop’s bank account. However, Somthop later claimed that this amount was insufficient to meet the legal conditions for the partnership, pressuring Pete to transfer an additional 2 million baht. Somthop promised to personally deliver the visa once the necessary procedures were completed. However, as time passed, Somthop became increasingly evasive, leaving Pete suspicious and ultimately realising he had fallen victim to fraud when Somthop disappeared completely.

Although an arrest warrant was issued against Somthop by the Minburi Criminal Court on May 31 of this year, law enforcement authorities were unable to locate him until recently. Today, Somthop voluntarily surrendered to the police after an extensive search. Following his surrender, he is being questioned at the police station and will subsequently be transferred to the court for temporary detention. Bail has been denied due to his previous history of attempting to flee.

The Superintendent of Nimit Mai Police Station, Yingyot Chalartpru, revealed that while media reports suggest there may be multiple victims of Somthop’s scams, only the Singaporean victim has officially filed a complaint with the police.

Another victim, a 55 year old Thai man named Kung, disclosed that Somthop had swindled him by taking possession of 30 valuable amulets worth over 1 million baht, promising to help sell them before vanishing without a trace. Additionally, another Thai victim was enticed into financing online shows, providing an advance of 800,000 baht for production costs, only to be abandoned by Somthop.

Details regarding Somthop’s whereabouts during his evasion and the specific charges filed against him have not yet been made public.