
BANGKOK — A gang of nine Vietnamese nationals have been arrested for kidnapping a Taiwanese man and his Thai girlfriend and extorting over 1.7 million baht ($52,200). The man was so badly beaten that he almost died.
According to a press conference held at the Immigration Bureau on September 26, the investigation began when authorities received information about an unknown group of criminals who held a Thai woman and a Taiwanese man and demanded more than 1.7 million baht in ransom while threatening to kill them and severely assaulting them.
Authorities later identified the Thai woman as Ms. Suchada, 33, and the Taiwanese man as Mr. Li, 21. The perpetrators were a group of Vietnamese nationals doing business in Thailand, including trading in digital currencies. The couple was lured to a house at Soi Lat Phrao 41, Chankasem Subdistrict, Chatuchak District, Bangkok.
Police surveillance of the house revealed suspicious activity, including the presence of several Vietnamese-looking people. A red Mazda with fake license plates was seen leaving the house. Police followed the vehicle to a warehouse in Suphanburi province. Late in the evening, the same car was seen returning to the house in Soi Lat Phrao 41, where a man and a woman were taken into the house.
Believing that the two were the victims, police contacted Taiwanese police stationed in Thailand. They confirmed that Mr. Li’s father had reported to the Zhongping Police Station in New Taipei City that his son had called and asked for a money transfer, claiming that he was being held captive, assaulted and killed.
Immigration applied for and obtained a search warrant from the criminal court. During the search, they found Ms. Suchada and Mr. Li held captive in the house. Mr. Li has injuries from assault all over his body, including his back.
Nine Vietnamese suspects were arrested, including Mr. Pham Van, 40 (the leader), Mr. Pham Ngoc, 37 (deputy leader), Mr. Nguyen Xuan, 49, Mr. Ngoc Phap, 34, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc, 41, Mr. Nguyen Thanh, 33, Mr. Tran Vu, 41, Mr. Ngoc Tu, 35, and Mr. Nguyen Hou, 40.

Police seized a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber revolver, 33 bullets and two cars as evidence.
Pol. Col. Ratchachote Chotikun, deputy commander of the Immigration Bureau, said a background check revealed that one of the nine suspects had overstayed his visa and all had traveled in and out of the country multiple times. They had been running a cannabis plantation in Suphanburi province and there were no previous convictions for such criminal activities.
When Mr. Li’s background was checked, it was found that he had also failed to comply with his visa. He also had an arrest warrant for assault in Taiwan, which is being handled separately as he is both a victim and a suspect.
Ms. Suchada informed the police that she was Mr. Li’s girlfriend. They had come to the house at 41 Soi Lat Phrao with a Thai broker so that Mr. Li could buy 50,000 dollars (a cryptocurrency) worth about 1.7 million baht. When they arrived, they met Mr. Pham Ngoc and negotiated the transaction.
After Mr. Pham Ngoc transferred 50,000 dollars to the wallet provided by Mr. Li, Mr. Li did not transfer Thai baht in return because he was merely a middleman for a man named Dong. Mr. Li tried to contact Dong, but after Dong received the cryptocurrency, he broke off all contact.
The Vietnamese gang detained the couple and threatened to kill them if they did not pay back the money. As time passed and the ransom was not paid, Mr. Li was only able to return 990 dollars. The gang then began to attack him and led him to a warehouse in Suphanburi province.
There they beat him with metal rods, strangled him with a rope and threatened to cut off his fingers with garden shears. They also beat him with a pistol and held a gun to his head, threatening to kill him and bury him there if he did not get the money. The couple was eventually taken back to the house where police later rescued them.
The Immigration Department revoked the suspects’ visas, confiscated their firearms, ammunition and vehicles and handed them over to the Phahonyothin Police Station for prosecution.
_______