Crime

Temple Treasurers Homes Raided to Recover Embezzled Cash

Temple Treasurers Homes Raided to Recover Embezzled Funds

Police investigating the embezzlement of approximately US$3million from a local temple in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand on Tuesday. Police raided several houses and impounded valuable amulets, along with assets from the temple treasurers.

Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat Pankaeo, commander of the Counter Corruption Division, and about 60 police raided four houses in Nakhon Sawan to try to reclaim the money stolen from Wat Huai Duan.

He said that one of the houses belonged to 66-year-old Mr. Sanoh Thongpron, the head treasurer, at Wat Huai Duan.

The property contained a single-story house, a cottage, pig stalls, a van, a van with multiple purposes, and a sedan.

The police found more than 10,000 Buddha amulets inside the house, many of them made of gold, worth between US$6000 and US$9000 each. Additionally, they seized ten title deeds representing about 300 rai of land, about US$30,000 in cash, and also four guns.

The raids came after the disciples of Luang Phor Phat Panyakamo, the abbot of the temple, filed a complaint alleging that the temple’s treasurers cheated the temple out of more than US$3million in donations in 2020 and 2021.

Investigators found that Mr. Sanoh and two women, Chanya Phetsaibua, 57, and Booncherd Sukjit, 58, transferred about US$1.8million from the wat’s account to their own accounts.

The elderly temple abbot reported that some cash had been returned to the temple’s accounts.

Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiatsaid the raids on Tuesday were part of a process to recover the remaining embezzled funds.

The search also included the residences of two women and a man identified as Kimhan Talapnak, 32. A total of US$100,000 in cash and additional assets were impounded as evidence.

The commander said police would examine the source of the impounded assets and ask more questions of the four suspects.

Buddhism’s view of how criminals should be treated

Buddhism teaches that all people should show loving-kindness and compassion, but accepts that some do wrong, misuse their free will, and cause suffering to others.

In Buddhism, the Five Precepts serve as guidelines for living a meaningful life. Buddhism forbids a number of things, including taking life, taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct.

Buddhists follow the Eightfold Path towards enlightenment. Committing a crime against these teachings or guidelines would be against Buddhist beliefs. Buddhists believe that “intentional actions” result in karma. Negative actions accrue discrediting merit.

Buddhists believe that they will be reincarnated as something enlightened each life and eventually reach enlightenment if they follow Samsara. Many Buddhists believe that they have a duty to protect society’s weak and will not commit crimes.

Although most Buddhists believe criminals should be punished, they have strong views about punishment in this world:

Putting an offender under inhumane conditions does not solve their behaviour or those of humanity in general – reform is the best solution
The offender should be punished only enough for him to make amends, and his rehabilitation in society should be a priority
Both the criminal and the person administering the punishment suffer damage when an offender is punished with excessive cruelty
Buddhists should be compassionate because it is impossible to administer severe punishment with compassion
Someone who has committed a serious crime may be expelled from the community or country for the sake of society’s safety

Buddhists’ responses to crime in society and those who commit it?

Prisoners’ welfare is a concern for many Buddhists. For instance, they may campaign for reform of the prison system, visit prisoners, or vote for a political party that reflects their views on justice and treating people equally.

Buddhas are also taught to show compassion and forgiveness to others, and they aim to show love and kindness to everyone, including those who have committed a crime.

Related CTN News:

Temple Monks to Cease Gilding Worshipers Faces with Gold Leaf

Money Stolen from Temple Donations Returned to Abbot

Drug Rehab Center at Temple Closed by Medical Services

Crime

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

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

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

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.