BANGKOK — A husband and wife who worked as interpreters have surrendered in connection with a Thai police extortion case. The case involves police officers attempting to extort $10 million USDT from a Chinese-Vanuatu businessman, though they only obtained $165K. Nine police officers and one civilian have already been arrested.
On November 1, investigators at Thung Song Hong Police Station questioned Mr. Yun and Ms. Apatsara for 10 hours after they turned themselves in during the morning, accompanied by their lawyer.
Both suspects denied the charges, although they admitted to being present during the October 16 police search of a Chinese-Vanuatu businessman’s house in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. They claimed they were only there to provide translation services and weren’t involved in any extortion attempts. They reserved further details for court testimony.
Their lawyer, Krit, revealed that his clients surrendered following arrest warrants for supporting extortion (Section 149), which carries a maximum death penalty sentence. He explained that legal representation was necessary during questioning.
Initially, the clients admitted to being contacted by police officers but couldn’t identify which department they were from. The two interpreters had previously assisted the Tourist Police with translations, though the duration of their service is unclear. Their prior work relationship with the accused police officers is still under investigation.
The wife, who is Thai, can speak Chinese and would communicate with her Chinese husband who would then relay messages to the victim. The clients maintain they never requested 300 million baht in benefits nor did they ask for 700,000 baht in exchange for revealing the names of the police officers involved in the search.
After 10 hours of interrogation, relatives posted 600,000 baht bail for both interpreters. The couple was granted bail, similar to the 9 police officers and 1 civilian who were released earlier.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kitt-rat Panpetch ordered Metropolitan Police Chief Pol. Lt. Gen. Thiti Saengswang to expedite the investigation and arrests. The suspects’ departments were instructed to implement strict disciplinary and criminal measures, with orders to thoroughly investigate all involved parties and report findings promptly.
The Technology Crime Investigation Division 1 has established a fact-finding committee and transferred the accused officers from their positions to prevent interference with evidence during the 30-day investigation period.
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