UPDATE: Cousin of Chinese Man Suspected of Hiring Men to Rob Her Own Relative, Say Pattaya Police

Pattaya —

Police officers believed that the Chinese men, who broke into the house of a Chinese man in Pattaya and unsuccessfully forced him to give them 10 million baht, had been hired by the Chinese man’s own cousin, originally reported as his sister, who was supposedly abducted.

First our previous story:

A Chinese man reported to Pattaya police that he was robbed and his cousin was abducted by a group of Chinese nationals in Pattaya. However, police are investigating alleged inconsistencies in his account.

Now for our update:

On July 18th, 2024, a key witness, Mr. Aun (full name withheld upon request), a 30-year-old van driver, came forward to the Nongprue Police Station to report that he had been hired by four Chinese nationals to transport them from a Pattaya hotel to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Mr. Aun was contacted by police after he was believed to have unknowingly helped transport Chinese people who broke into the house of Mr. Qian Peng Yi, 34, in Pattaya on July 17th. The men threatened Mr. Yi to give them 10 million baht in cash, stole his valuables, and also allegedly took his cousin. Mr. Yi, however, did not give them money because he managed to escape and seek help from the police.

Mr. Aun denied any involvement in the robbery and stated that he took a picture of the group while they were smoking cigarettes at the airport entrance. Surprisingly, one of the individuals in the picture was a woman with short hair, who turned out to be the victim’s supposedly abducted cousin.

The cousin did not appear to be held against her will by the men, Mr. Aun noted.

After dropping off the passengers, Mr. Aun returned to his usual location. He was later shocked to learn from police that the four Chinese nationals were suspects in a kidnapping and robbery case. He immediately went to the police station to report the incident and prove his innocence.

An investigation by immigration police revealed that the three Chinese men entered Thailand together on July 16th from Da Nang, Vietnam. They departed Thailand together for Hong Kong. The victim’s cousin also left Thailand just hours after the alleged kidnapping.

Based on this information, the Nongprue Police suspected that the robbery and kidnapping might have been orchestrated by the victim’s cousin.

The police are currently gathering evidence and preparing to request an arrest warrant from the Pattaya Provincial Court for all four Chinese nationals.