Four other Malaysians are detained by Thai immigration for questioning.
BANGKOK: A Malaysian teenager and a notorious Taiwanese gangster, suspected of being leaders of a now-crippled “Macau scam” syndicate, will be charged under Thailand’s harsh Trafficking-In-Person Act and Section 312 of the country’s Penal Code for confining and beating up their victims.
The 19-year-old Malaysian and the 29-year-old Taiwanese face long prison terms and hefty fines if convicted.
Four other Malaysians believed to be members of the syndicate, are currently being detained by Thai immigration for questioning, Tourist Police Bureau acting deputy chief, Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan told a media conference here today.
“After questioning, the four Malaysians could be deported as well as blacklisted from entering the kingdom in future,” he said.
In an operation last Friday following information provided by the Malaysian embassy here, Thai police raided a condominium in the outskirts of Bangkok and rescued a Malaysian woman, who syndicate members were physically abusing.
The woman who was confined in the condominium against her will, suffered injuries to her hands, legs and buttocks after allegedly being beaten with an iron rod by the Taiwanese man. The woman was later taken to the hospital.
During the raid, the authorities arrested five other Malaysians aged between 22 to 27. The 19-year-old suspected ringleader from Melaka was detained at the Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday, upon arrival from Malaysia.
A man, who was one of the five Malaysians arrested, turned out to be a victim of the syndicate.
Surachet said the syndicate did not target Thais and only preyed on Malaysian and Chinese victims.
“When the syndicate received money from a victim through the scam, they transferred the money into Bitcoin currency,” he said.
Meanwhile, a policeman involved in the investigation said the Malaysian teenager had rented the condominium under his name since August, while the rescued woman had been working for the syndicate since September until mid-October.
The Taiwanese gangster, he said, had demanded RM300,000 from the woman if she wanted to leave the syndicate.
Supt Ridzuan Abdul Aziz, attached to the Malaysian Embassy, who was present during the press conference today, praised the Thai police for their prompt action following a report lodged by the embassy.
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