Chinese man robbed of over 230,000 baht in Pattaya

An elderly Chinese man was robbed of more than 230,000 baht in cash and other valuables in Pattaya on Thursday morning, by four Thai men who claimed to be police officers.

The incident was reported to Pattaya police by the 52-year-old victim, who identified himself as Lin Yifan, on Thursday.

According to the police, Lin and two Chinese friends ate noodles together at about 5am, after which they separated.

One of them left in a black sedan and another walked into a lane beside the food outlet, leaving Lin standing on Pattaya 3 Road, while waiting for a ride-app taxi.

A car then suddenly stopped in front of Lin. Two men, dressed in black, dragged Lin into the car, which immediately sped away. One of the two men was heard to have said to the victim” “I police. You call centre [sic].”

Lin reportedly told the police that the assailants robbed him of 15,000 baht in cash and took his two cellphones, adding that they also forced him to wire about 150,000 baht from his Chinese bank account into an account specified by them. He was eventually dropped off at a shooting range, about nine kilometres from where he was abducted.

Pol Col Anek Sathongyu, the superintendent, said that he does not believe the robbers were genuine police officers, adding that one of them might have known the victim.