Regional News

Pattaya Police Find Body of Former Hell’s Angel, American Arrested

Police found Schneider body burred in a woodland area out of Pattaya

PATTAYA – Police Wednesday reported that the body of an Australian former Hells Angels member Wayne Rodney Schneider, 37, who was abducted at gunpoint by a group of masked men in Thailand has been discovered in a woodland grave.

Schneider was kidnapped on Monday by a gang of men, believed to be foreigners, outside his house in Pattaya, a seaside resort town notorious for its sprawling red light district and links with organized crime.

Antonio Bagnato is wanted in connection to Wayne Rodney Schneider kidnap and murder. Source: Pattya police

Police launched a frantic search after security guards saw the Australian beaten unconscious and then bundled into the back of a van which sped off.

But their search took a grim turn late Tuesday when his corpse was discovered outside the city near big Buddha hill.

“He was murdered. His body was buried two meters deep in a woodland area out of Pattaya,” Police Colonel Sukthat Pumpanmuang, commander of Pattaya city police, told the Bangkok Post.

Police have named their chief suspect as Antonio Bagnato, a 27-year-old Australian national.

Media reported that Schneider and Bagnato had been out drinking together the night before the kidnap.

Sukthat said five people were believed to be involved in the kidnap and murder.

Schneider’s body was found in the Sattahip district south of Pattaya, he said, adding that cause of death had yet to be determined and that an autopsy would be carried out.

The Australian had been in Thailand for around one month and had rented a house, putting down a 130,000 baht ($3,626) deposit for six months.

Police on Wednesday arrested an American man and a Thai woman in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a former Australian Hell’s Angels gang leader, the Bangkok Post Reported

Tyler Joseph Fulton Sheen Gerard from California

The 21-year-old American, identified as Tyler Joseph Fulton Sheen Gerard, was taken into custody around 11am Wednesday at an immigration checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province as he was trying to enter Cambodia.

A team of immigration officials, rangers and police spotted a foreigner wearing a white vest and blue sports shorts with a bandage wrapped around his right elbow as he walked from Rong Kluea border market to Aranyaprathet immigration checkpoint.

His passport matched a list of suspects wanted for Monday’s abduction of 37-year-old Wayne Rodney Schneider from his rented luxury home in tambon Nongprue of Bang Lamung district.

An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for Australian Antonio Bagnato, 26, on charges of conspiring to assault and detain Schneider, his reported partner in a Sydney fitness business.

Lead suspect’s wife arrested

But immigration officials announced today that Mr Bagnato had managed to escape Thailand. His route of escape and destination were not disclosed. Police on Wednesday, however, did arrest Mr Bagnato’s Thai wife, who is accused of renting the white Toyota Vigo pickup truck used to carry out the kidnapping and transport Schneider’s dead body.

Police search a Toyota truck believed to have transported the dead body of former Australian Hells Angels leader Wayne Schneider to the burial site outside Pattaya. (Photo by Trinai Jansrichol)

The woman, whose name was withheld, allegedly paid 5,000 baht to rent the truck from Nov 28 to Dec 3 from a dealer off Third Road in central Pattaya. She reportedly told police she did not know what the truck was to be used for and was oblivious to any plan to abduct and kill Schneider.

But police said the woman confessed Mr Bagnato told her to delete all text messages from her telephone about the truck rental.

Pattaya and Chon Buri police on Thursday searched the Bagnato household in the resort city, but nothing of significance was reported to have been found.

Mr Bagnato is believed to have been the ringleader of the gang of five masked men that whisked Schneider from his 130,000-baht-a-month Jomtien Park Villa home on Thepprasit Soi 17 around 5am on Nov 30.

Security guards identified Mr Bagnato to police and said they believed all the other assailants were foreigners. Mr Gerard, the American apprehended today, is accused of being one of them.

Immigration police said his name was on a Thai watchlist, as was Schneider’s.

Pol Lt Col Naruephon Karuna, investigation chief at Khlong Luek police station, immediately alerted Pattaya investigators and arranged to bring the suspect to Pattaya police station on Wednesday for interrogation.

Pol Col Pairat Pukcharoen, chief of Sa Kaeo immigration police, said his agency had been working closely with Chon Buri immigration and Pattaya City police on the case to prevent suspects on the watchlist from escaping the country.

Pol Maj Gen Amporn Buarabporn, chief of Chon Buri police, on Wednesday said the investigation has progressed well.

GPS key to finding body

Pol Maj Gen Amporn said early Wednesday that Schenider’s body was found following the discovery that his abductors had rented the Chon Buri-registered Toyota at a car tent on Soi Xyte.

Police examine the scene where the remains of Australian biker Wayne Rodney Schneider were found in the Khao Cheechan area outside of Pattaya around midnight Tuesday. (Photo by Chaiyot Phuttanapong)

Investigators tracked the vehicle using the GPS installed in it and found that it had been parked near the Big Buddha Hill burial site on Monday for almost two hours starting at 7am, two hours after Schneider’s abduction, said the Chon Buri police chief.

Investigators eventually found the truck abandoned on Soi Kasetsin 5 on Phra Tamnak hill in South Pattaya on Wednesday morning. Officers found dirt and grass stains on the vehicle’s floor and the seats were wet, according to Pol Col Sukthat Pumpunmuang, chief of Muang Pattya police station.

Forensic officers collected fingerprints left at the vehicle, but found no other evidence.

Schneider was said to have been living in Pattaya for only a month and was invited to rent the luxury villa with a former gang rival, ex-Comancheros leader Amad Malkoun. The Hell’s Angels this year displaced the Comancheros as Australia’s top outlaw motorcycle gang, Australian media said, noting that the two gangs have had previous violent confrontations.

Mr Malkoun — who also has a lengthy criminal background including drug trafficking — said he, Schneider and Mr Bagnato, a fellow biker, went out drinking the night before the dead man’s abduction, but Malkoun returned early and went to bed.

He told the media that he did not hear anything when his housemate was taken by force the next morning, even though police found blood and bullet casings at the scene.

Pattaya is a town renowned for its seedy underbelly but it is unusual for foreigners to be killed in such a brazen manner.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Schneider had previously had run-ins with the law in his homeland, linked to his membership of the Hells Angels.

The newspaper added that Australian outlaw biker gangs have built up a growing presence inside Pattaya in recent years.

Police Dig up Schneider’s body in Pattaya

Regional News

Thai Immigration Police Detain Over 26,000 Illegal Migrant Workers

Thailand’s Immigration Police have detained approximately 26,000 illegal migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia during an eight-day operation in Bangkok and surrounding regions, according to a Royal Thai Police spokesperson.

Mr Adisorn Keudmeuangkhon of the Bangkok-based Migrant Working Group said the drive was in response to an increasing number of concerns about an influx of illegal migrant labor.

“Some Thai people see that many illegal workers are competing for their job positions in the past few months,” he told me. “That’s why the ministry has to take tougher action.”

Civil strife in Myanmar and the recent implementation of a military conscription have driven thousands of Burmese into Thailand, while severe inflation and limited job opportunities in Laos have also encouraged an influx of workers from that country.

Between June 5 and 12, officials detained and checked 20,111 Myanmar laborers, 1,659 Laotian migrant workers, and 3,971 Cambodian workers, according to the Ministry of Labor.

It marked the start of a 120-day campaign to audit workplaces and arrest unlawful migrant workers, according to the government.

Migrant Workers to be Deported

According to Keudmeuangkhon, undocumented workers face fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 Thai baht (US $136 to $1,365), deportation, and a two-year prohibition on re-entering Thailand.

Authorities did not intend to file criminal charges, he claimed.

Authorities raided 1,774 workplaces, according to Moe Gyo, chairman of the Joint Action Committee on Burmese Affairs, which advocates for Myanmar labor rights.

He stated that since the military junta activated conscription, there has been an upsurge in the number of arrests of Myanmar citizens in Thailand who do not have a work permit identity card.

All men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve in the military for at least two years. The first group of 5,000 conscripts summoned by Myanmar’s junta will start duty at the end of this month, military sources told AFP on Monday.

According to Keudmeuangkhon, the bulk of Lao migrant workers in Thailand work as fresh market shopkeepers, restaurant servers, and mall salespeople.

Most people visit Thailand as part of ASEAN’s visa-free policy for tourists, but they stay longer than the 30-day restriction once they find job.

“Employers like to hire Lao migrant workers in the service sector because they can speak fluent Thai,” he told me.

Immigration Police Detain Illegal Migrant Workers

The Thai Cabinet may approve an enhanced program for Thai employers to register their unauthorized foreign workers in July or August. Keudmeuangkhon explained.

Last month, the Thai Ministry of Labor’s Foreign Workers Administration office announced that 268,465 Lao migrant workers were officially working in Thailand.

Baykham Kattiya, Lao Minister of Labor, told Radio Free Asia earlier this month that there are 415,956 migrant workers in other nations, the majority of whom work in Thailand.

According to her, the Lao government believes that over 203,000 persons working outside of the nation lack proper work documents.

However, a Lao official familiar with the labor industry informed Radio Free Asia, a BenarNews-affiliated news station, on June 20 that the number of illegal Lao migrant workers in Thailand and abroad is likely significantly greater.

“They go to other countries as illegal migrant workers through different types of methods – as tourists or students,” said the politician. “Thus, it is hard for the immigration police to collect data on these people.”

Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers

Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers

News

High School Student Dies After Being Electrocuted By School Water Dispenser

14-year-old boy was electrocuted by a water dispenser: File Image

Thailand’s Office of Basic Education Commission has initiated an investigation into the electrocution of a 14-year-old student by a water dispenser in a high school. The event happened at noon on Friday, during the high school’s sports day. The victim was a Grade 8 student.

According to local media in Trang Province, the incident occurred when a teacher instructed the pupil to turn off a water dispenser amid a heavy rain.

According to a witness, the child collapsed while strolling with his friend near a water station. The friend claimed he attempted to assist but was also shocked by electricity.

According to reports, the friend then recovered, left the site, and requested assistance from teachers. A teacher ran to the scene and used a towel to pull the boy away by the ankle. He was taken to the hospital, but it was too late, they claimed.

The event sparked criticism from parents and netizens over school safety, as well as the slow response to aid the young youngster.

Mr. Chainarong Changrua, head of Trang-Krabi’s Secondary Educational Service Area Office, told local media on Sunday that forensic officers from Trang Provincial Police had visited the area. They discovered the blown breaker switch behind the water dispenser, he explained.

The breaker was burned out, thus the authorities assumed the disaster was caused by a short circuit that allowed energy to spill to a neighboring power pole. The student also appeared wet and was not wearing shoes when electrocuted.

According to the Office of Basic Education Commission, a probe team will complete its investigation this week.

The student’s father, Mr Pornchai Thepsuwan, 53, claimed he was saddened when he saw his son’s body. The boy (Wayu), was the youngest of two boys, he explained. He stated that following the tragedy, the school director and staff gave financial assistance to the families.

Mr Pornchai also said he would not seek charges against the institution because he believed it was an accident.

Electrical accidents in Thailand

Electrocution instances in Thailand have increased alarmingly in recent years. Many mishaps occur as a result of improper wiring and inadequate maintenance of electrical systems.

Public locations, such as schools and markets, frequently lack adequate safety precautions, putting individuals in danger. In rural areas, antiquated infrastructure exacerbates the situation, resulting in more frequent and serious events.

Although several high-profile cases have brought these challenges to light, genuine progress has been gradual. Furthermore, the rainy season heightens the likelihood of electrical accidents, as water and exposed wires do not mix well.

The government has made steps to strengthen safety standards, but enforcement is patchy. More education on electrical safety could help to reduce these accidents.

Unfortunately, better infrastructure and tougher rules may have prevented many of these incidents. The loss and injuries caused by electrocution are avoidable, emphasizing the need for immediate action.

Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand

Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand

News

Thailand’s Tourist Police Crackdown on Tourist Scammers in Pattaya

Tourist Police Pattaya: File Image

Thailand’s Tourist Police said it is collaborating with embassies from five countries to combat tourist scams and ten criminal gangs in Pattaya. The Tourist Police Bureau, convened a meeting on Thursday Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am told a press briefing.

Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am, the Tourist Police bureau commissioner said the participants included ambassadors from South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, India, and Switzerland.

He told the briefing the he had ordered a crackdown on tourist frauds, such as fraudulent or low-quality tour operators and unfair sales of goods and services. Stepped-up operations began on June 19 and will continue until June 25.

He stated that the agency was working with numerous organisations to increase tourists’ confidence in visiting Pattaya.

Gen Saksira spent time on the famed Walking Street speaking with officers on duty and assigned them to seek for members of ten criminal groups known to operate in Pattaya.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will visit Chon Buri on Saturday to assess the tourism situation. He intends to visit the site of a future Formula One racecourse near Khao Phra Tamnak in Bang Lamung District.

Prime Minister Srettha recently met with Formula One organisers in Italy to examine the potential of including Thailand on the race schedule in the future.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister will pay a visit to Rayong’s U-tapao airport to discuss development on the airport’s land, with the goal of encouraging investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor.

Police Chief Reinstated

In other police news, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol has been reinstated as national police chief following the conclusion of an investigation into a highly publicised quarrel, according to Wissanu Krea-ngam, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s counsellor.

Mr Wissanu released the investigation’s findings on Thursday, after the prime minister formed a fact-finding committee chaired by Chatchai Promlert to investigate into the quarrel between Pol Gen Torsak and his deputy, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.

The four-month study revealed conflicts and disorder at all levels of the Royal Thai Police, but it was unclear whether these issues arose from a single cause or several causes, according to Mr Wissanu.

The findings revealed that both Pol Gen Torsak and Pol Gen Surachate were involved, with each team contributing to the tensions, he noted.

Mr Wissanu indicated that Pol Gen Surachate was reinstated as deputy national police head on 18 April following his relocation to the Prime Minister’s Office on 20 March. A disciplinary committee was formed to investigate Pol Gen Surachate, and he was ordered temporarily suspended from the police force.

Because there were no further difficulties to explore, it was decided to restore Pol Gen Torsak. He plans to retire on September 30.

On March 20, Mr Srettha abruptly transferred both top police officers to the Prime Minister’s Office in an effort to address the growing schism within the police service.

Kitrat Panphet, Deputy National Police Chief, was subsequently named Acting Police Chief. According to sources, Pol Gen Surachate could face money laundering charges related to online gaming networks.

Source: Bangkok Post