BANGKOK — Officials from the Japanese Embassy in Thailand, including a Police Attaché, brought Mr. Takeyuki, a 63-year-old Japanese national, and Ms. Banag, his 40-year-old Filipino wife, to two police stations in Bangkok. The couple reported being extorted by a group of Japanese and Thai individuals after asking them for help with visa renewal.
They filed a complaint at Chokchai Police Station on October 16 and at Phaya Thai Police Station on October 17. The couple is seeking legal action against four individuals, including three Japanese nationals and one Thai national, who allegedly collaborated to threaten, physically assault, and extort them.
The incidents occurred in two areas under the jurisdiction of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police, specifically within the Phaya Thai and Chokchai Police Station jurisdictions. The events began at an apartment on Phahonyothin Soi 3, Phaya Thai District, and continued at a hotel on Prasert Manukit Road, Lat Phrao District, Bangkok, on October 14-15.
The couple first reported the crime to investigators on October 16 at Chokchai Police Station. The officers could recognize that Mr. Takeyuki suffered injuries including bruises and swelling around his right eye.
Pol. Lt. Col. Yongyuth Thongma, the lead investigator, disclosed that the case began in early September when Mr. Takeyuki sought to renew a visa for his wife, Banag. A Japanese friend named Daisuke introduced him to Mr. Niki, a 45-year-old Japanese national, claiming Niki could assist with the visa renewal.
Niki, along with Mr. Pao, a 32-year-old Thai national, arranged a meeting with the couple at a shopping mall near Wat Phra Si Mahathat, Bang Khen District. At the meeting, they informed the couple that the visa renewal would cost 200,000 baht. Mr. Takeyuki agreed to the amount.
On September 13, Niki and his accomplices instructed the couple to meet them at Crystal Park, Lad Phrao District. From there, the suspects drove the couple to the Cambodian border. Niki accompanied Banag across the border to request a renewal of her visa, which was set to expire on September 17, 2024.
Several days later, when Mr. Takeyuki inquired about his wife’s visa, Niki told him that it was not ready yet and asked him to wait. During this time, Takeyuki experienced financial difficulties and borrowed 55,000 baht from Niki in three installments (20,000 baht, 25,000 baht, and 5,000 baht).
Takeyuki later learned that Niki had received a government concession in logistics but needed capital to continue. To help Niki, Takeyuki offered to lend Niki and Pao an international bill of exchange.
However, this gesture backfired and escalated tensions.
Niki and Pao visited Takeyuki’s apartment to demand an additional deposit of 20,000 US dollars. Takeyuki refused and explained that the bond belonged to a British citizen, and he demanded the return of the previously borrowed bond.
This angered Pao, who threatened to stop the processing of Banag’s visa. Takeyuki replied that he would find another way to extend the visa himself. Pao retaliated with threats and warned that his connections in Thailand would prevent the couple from escaping. Niki also made death threats over the phone.
Feeling cornered, Takeyuki prepared 100,000 baht and tried to return the 55,000 baht he had borrowed, but Niki refused to accept it. In desperation, Takeyuki sought help from his friend Daisuke, who told him that resolving the situation would require 300,000 baht, as Niki would have to bear the cost of the visa procedure.
On October 13, around 5-6 p.m., Niki and Pao visited Takeyuki’s apartment again and intimidated him into agreeing to pay 300,000 baht by October 18. However, Pao insisted that they could not wait and took Takeyuki to the Phaya Thai police station where another suspect, Mr. Ryo, a 40-year-old Japanese national, attacked Takeyuki by punching him repeatedly in the eye in front of the police officers. The officers intervened and released Ryo from the station before taking the group to a private room for mediation.
When negotiations failed, the suspects took Takeyuki and his wife to an undisclosed location. One of the suspects coolly remarked, “If we kill you here, no one will know.” Ryo attacked Takeyuki throughout the night until the morning of October 14. In the end, Takeyuki managed to collect 200,000 baht from his wife’s relatives.
Although Niki had received 200,000 baht, he wrote further demands on a whiteboard, including a handling fee, an annulment fee for an arrest warrant, and miscellaneous expenses.
The 200,000 baht that Takeyuki initially provided was split as 100,000 baht toward the arrest warrant cancellation and the remaining 100,000 baht as repayment for the borrowed money. However, the suspects refused to release the couple, assigning Mr. Tomoki to guard them.
Before midnight on October 14, Pao took the couple to a hotel; Ryo and Tomoki followed in another car. The couple was locked in a small room, where Takeyuki secretly asked the Japanese embassy for help. This led to immigration officials and Chokchai Station police intervening and rescuing the couple.
Subsequently, Phaya Thai Police Station conducted an investigation and obtained arrest warrants for a total of four individuals involved in this case. On October 17, the investigative unit of Phaya Thai Police Station arrested two suspects:
- Pao, who was apprehended at his residence in Bueng Kum district, Bangkok.
- Ryu, who was arrested at Chokchai Police Station.
Both suspects were charged with conspiracy to extort others. Additionally, Ryu was previously charged with overstaying his visa at Chokchai Police Station, as his passport was only authorized for stay in the kingdom until September 30, 2024.
Meanwhile, the police are continuing to pursue the arrest of two more suspects, Niki and Tomoki, to proceed with legal action against them.
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