4 Thai and Chinese men arrested for kidnapping and extortion in Pattaya
Chinese victim forced into SUV at gunpoint and dumped near remote railway track
Police arrested two Thai men and two Chinese nationals for kidnapping and extorting a Chinese tourist in Pattaya.
The 52 year old victim, Lin, was abducted by four men posing as police officers on July 10 while standing outside a noodle shop on Pattaya Sai Sam Road. The gang arrived in an SUV and forced him into their vehicle.
According to Lin, the suspects accused him of being involved in a call centre scam, then threatened him with a firearm and demanded that he transfer 100,000 baht. They also stole an additional 15,000 baht in cash and two mobile phones valued at over 100,000 baht.
The gang later abandoned Lin beside a railway track near a shooting range at approximately 6am. He immediately went to the police station to file a complaint.
Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station reviewed CCTV footage from outside the restaurant to the location where Lin was left. They identified the suspicious SUV parked at a shopping mall in South Pattaya.
Two bald men were seen exiting the vehicle and entering the mall, followed by two others wearing red and white shirts. The man in the white shirt was caught wiping paint off the vehicle’s registration plate in an apparent attempt to obscure its numbers before driving away.
Yesterday, July 13, police successfully arrested all four suspects: 37 year old Chinese national Han Longding, 63 year old Chinese national Lin Yifan, 35 year old Thai man Siripong Chiablaem, and 28 year old Thai man Thitipong Pongpiriyakun.
The suspects claimed they had been hired by another Chinese national to carry out the crime. Officers seized the SUV used in the abduction and are continuing their search for the stolen belongings.
A similar incident occurred on Pattaya Sai Sam Road in September last year. In that case, a Chinese victim was violently assaulted by over 10 fellow countrymen and lost his eyesight.
The attackers attempted to force the man into a minivan, allegedly for further extortion, but he resisted. During the struggle, the victim lost a limited-edition necklace worth approximately 2 million baht.
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