Crime

Police Arrest Former Olympic Gold Medalist for Sexual Assault

Police Arrest Thailand's Olympic Gold Medalist for Sexual Assault

Thailand’s Somluck Kamsing, who won an Gold Olympic medal for Kickboxing, surrendered to police Thursday. He is facing four counts, including attempted rape, in connection with a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl.

Mr Somluck surrendered around half past midnight, according to Pol Lt Col Suparerk Suwanraj, deputy chief investigator of Muang district police. His eldest brother and a close buddy followed him.

Mr Somluck was later charged with stealing a minor (someone over the age of 15 but under the age of 18) from their parents or guardians, stealing a minor for indecency, committing an indecent act against a minor, and attempting to rape.

The former kickboxer, 50, disputed the claims.

Mr Somluck, according to Pol Lt Col Suparerk, was not ready for questioning at the time. He was released on the condition that his lawyer prepare a statement for police investigators within 15 days.

“The suspect denied all charges and requested 15 days to prepare a statement in his defense.” He apologized to making a mistake and vowed to fix it. He also asked the police to apologize to everyone involved and to society as a whole.

“He (Mr Somluck) did not appear tense, but he was fully aware that what had occurred was an error.” “Because the suspect turned himself in to demonstrate his sincerity, the police investigators agreed in a meeting that there is no reason for him to escape and let him go,” said Pol Lt Col Suparerk.

Police Thailand

Police to Arrest Driver

He said the police would accuse a motorcycle driver who reportedly took the girl and Mr Somluck from an entertainment venue to a hotel with complicity in the alleged crime.

Mr Somluck was accused of sexual assault by the teenage girl, whose name has been concealed. She said that after meeting at a pub, Mr Somluck escorted her to a hotel and sexually attacked her. The incident occurred about 3.30 a.m. on December 10.

Mr Somluck, a former Muay Thai fighter turned boxer, won a bronze medal in 1989 and a gold medal in 1995 at the King’s Cup. He became the first Thai athlete to win a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.

Meanwhile, the man who drove Olympic champion Somluck Kamsing and a 17-year-old girl from a pub to a hotel is now facing additional charges. The driver had already been charged with soliciting prostitutes for others in the province’s northeastern region.

The 47-year-old male, named only as Paekko, was charged at the Mueang Khon Kaen police station with kidnapping a youngster from her guardians and bringing a minor for molestation. According to police, the biker, a native of tambon Sila in Muang district, was close to Mr Somluck and also worked as a football referee.

Somluck Kamsing olympic gold medal

Thai kickboxer and Olympic gold medalist

In July of this year, police from the Ban Ped station in Muang district arraigned the guy in the Khon Kaen provincial court on charges of procuring prostitutes.

Somluck Kamsing, is a Thai kickboxer and Olympic gold medalist in amateur boxing. Kamsing lighted the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Kamsing was born in the Thai city of Khon Kaen.

Somrak began competing in amateur boxing alongside his muay thai career, winning a bronze medal at the 1989 King’s Cup and a gold medal in the 1995 edition. He won a gold medal in the men’s Featherweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics, defeating Ramaz Paliani and Serafim Todorov among others, being the first Thai athlete to do so.

He also competed in the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004, but did not win any medals. In Guangzhou, China, Kamsing finished second in the first AIBA Asian 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He lost in the final to North Korean Kim Song-Guk. However, as a result of this, he qualified for the Athens Games.

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.