Bullet train in fake “ambassadorial residence” shocks cops
Police were shocked when they searched the “ambassadorial residence” of the fake Chinese diplomat with a false ID card collared in his fake consulate yesterday.
As the police seize assets of Chinese gangs operating in Thailand, the arrest of a middle-aged businessman in the heart of the city would hardly make the headlines. Except this businessman is accustomed to being transported around central Bangkok in what appears to be a fake embassy limousine, complete with dinky little flags on the bonnet, and a police escort.
During his arrest on Wednesday, police found the limousine alongside a BMW motorcycle made up to look like an official police escort.
The fantastic discoveries continued during a search of Shao’s rented office, splendidly done out in what one might call “diplomatic style.”
On display in a glass case in the office is Shao’s pride and joy: a full-dress uniform of the Thai military with a badge showing his name, and an impressive array of medals, perhaps for fraud above and beyond the call of duty. There is no evidence that Shao, if that is his name, has ever served in the Thai, or any other, military.
Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nuchanart, the deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, led the search of Shao’s residence in Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani, on Thursday evening.
Phanthana said that before the search had even begun, police stopped a pickup truck leaving the mansion’s grounds with two men on board, a Thai and a foreigner, along with 40 bottles of contraband booze. The liquor, at least, appears to be genuine.
The “ambassador’s” compound has four buildings – all of which seem to be real – and a fake bullet train. No diplomatic residence feels truly real without one.
Despite almost nothing connected to Shao Xiaobo being genuine, it is not clear exactly what offences he has committed.
So far, he has been charged only with making a false statement to obtain a Thai ID card. It was reported that he holds Chinese and Vanuatu passports.
