Pattaya, Thailand –
Pattaya police have provided an update on a viral social media post on a popular Facebook group. The original post, which we covered here, claimed that a foreign man won a cash prize playing slots in Pattaya, which is illegal.
Here is the police response:
Regarding the social media post in question, which mentioned a foreigner visiting Thailand, playing slots, and winning 20,000 baht at a location around Pattaya, here are the latest findings:
1. **Investigation Details:**
– On July 4th, 2024, at 12:00 hrs, Royal Thai Army 4, 2nd Battalion, and Royal Thai Army 1 collaborated with Pattaya City Police Station.
– They conducted an inspection of Pattaya Soi 6 in Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.
– No evidence of illegal slot machines were found in the area and no rooms matching the photo seen in the online post were found
2. **Biometric System Match:**
– Authorities took a photo of the foreign man who posted about playing a slot machine.
– The man in the photo is a 57-year old man with Israeli nationality.
– His latest departure from Thailand was on September 21, 2019, with a thirty day tourist visa.
– There is no record of his re-entry into Thailand and Immigration believes he has not been to Thailand in almost five years.
3. **Pending Investigation:**
– The exact location and date of the photo remain unclear.
– Further investigation will be conducted to gather additional information.
At this point, police believe the photo was not actually taken in Thailand and may have been posted by a person other than the person seen in the photo as a “joke.” However, police do not find the situation funny and are continuing to investigate the situation, including the social media user that originally posted the information online, possibly under a “fake” account.
Relevant officials have reminded the public that posting false information on social media can be considered a violation of Thailand’s strict computer and cyber crimes laws, which could bring many years in prison and stiff fines.
It could also violate Thailand’s just as strict slander and libel laws which also bring the potential of significant prison time and fines.
