Crime

Pattaya Identity Tim Sharky Ward a Mystery

Published

13 years ago

June 16, 2012

Bchcomber

Sharky seems to have an opinion on most subjects

CHIANGRAI TIMES – Timothy John Ward ”SHARKY” is a man of contrasts. In March he made international headlines after stabbing a Canadian tourist Shaun Ohonny, 43, on a South Pattaya beach. He says he was defending a friend and then bragged on his now defunct Facebook page of Paying off the Pattaya Police to drop the charges. Then, according to his now defunct Facebook page the Thai police formally approached him, as a respected local identity, to help them track pedophiles that prey on the town’s children

He talks about how he wants to help the children from being victims which is admirable.

He talks about how he wants to help the children from being victims which is admirable

Sharky seems to have an opinion on most subjects – and when it comes to the young bodybuilders who frequent his town for steroids, he pulls no punches: ”I don’t do it to stand in front of a mirror, rub myself in fake tan and win plastic trophies, I do it because it makes me feel good, and who’s business is it to say I shouldn’t? Look at all the damage done by alcohol and tobacco. They cause far more destruction to people’s lives.”

”I take testosterone, I take Deca [a popular, slow-bulking, synthetic steroid] for my joints and muscle tears and I take human growth hormones, which is phenomenal in that it gives me enormous energy and makes me so much more alert.”

Now living in Pattaya Thailand where he can often be seen on his daily walks along the beach front. Nobody knows how Sharky supports himself however it might be from profits he made on high interest loans people in New Zealand. It has been rumored that he has started up a similar operation in Pattaya but at this point it’s just speculation. Efforts by media to learn more information about Timothy Ward has been difficult.

As a youth in New Zealand, Timothy Ward supported himself by playing pool for money. He became known by his associates as “Shark”. He kept the nickname when he migrated to Australia and used it as the name of his company – Shark Financial Services Pty Ltd – a money lending business on the Gold Coast.

From 1996 to 2000 “Shark” (meaning both Ward and his company) lent to people who could not get credit elsewhere. Shark would lend a minimum of $500 to anyone, at interest rates of 156 % and 208 % per annum. Late payment fees could raise the interest rate to 360% per annum. Imprisoned borrowers (there were a few as a lot of his clientele were described as “drug dealers and hookers”) did not have to pay interest while serving their sentence but were expected to “fix things up” on their release.

Repayments had to be made on a weekly basis between Monday and Friday. If not made in this time, Shark would send around collectors. As the debtors had no collateral as security for the loan Shark considered “their body as collateral”. His “collectors” would threaten physical violence or in fact carry it out until the debtor found some means to pay Shark. Some people were given one warning, others weren’t. Threats of violence and actual violence were common practice regardless of sex and age and were directed not only at the borrower but also the borrower’s family and friends. If Shark could not contact a borrower, he considered them a “runner”. Runners were pursued by “the boys”.

After various complaints and a three month surveillance operation from August 1998 until October 1998, the State of Queensland sought to have Shark prohibited from lending money and fined for breaches of the Consumer Credit (Queensland) Act 1994 and the Consumer Credit (Queensland) Code.

Shark claimed that all his loans were made for business and investment purposes and therefore did not come under the Act or the Code, and that some of the transactions were carried out in New South Wales, meaning they could not be considered in a Queensland court.

The judge did not agree. He said that even though borrowers had signed documents that stated the loan was for the purpose of business or investment, they were signed “with a wink and a nod” and that the borrowers could do whatever they wanted with the money. Shark also boasted of having 400 clients that were involved in drug dealing and prostitution. The judge said that this did not come under the business exemption. Furthermore the Act and Code were developed to control loan sharks. The fact that a loan was made by someone from across the Tweed River did not prevent him from ruling on it.

The judge prohibited Shark from providing consumer credit because he had provided it unfairly and repeatedly engaged in unjust conduct. He fined him on breach of 27 lenders contracts. Each breached contract received a fine of $10,000, the total being $270,000. Shark appealed the decisions on the grounds that the penalties impose were too excessive. The Queensland Court of Appeal swiftly dismissed the appeal. The Court found that the penalties Ambrose J had imposed were totally justified.

If you want a fascinating insight into the world of loan sharks, read the transcripts of the conversations recorded and put in evidence in this case.

State of Queensland v Ward & Anor [2002] QSC 171 , State of Queensland v Ward & Anor [2003] QCA 366

State of Queensland v Ward & Anor [2003] QCA 366

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Published

6 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Published

6 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourist

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

Published

6 months ago

July 17, 2024

Thomas3940

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.