Police intervened to rescue an 18-year-old man who claimed he was deceived by a Chinese man and a Thai woman into opening mule accounts. When he became suspicious and requested the accounts to be frozen, he was dragged to a condo and threatened with family-wide murder.
At 10:40 p.m. on 3 January 2026, Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyu, Superintendent, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Arut Saphanon, Deputy Superintendent of Investigation, along with the investigation unit and patrol officers from Pattaya City Police Station, rescued 18-year-old Anuchit at a condominium on Third Road, Village No. 9, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. They acted after receiving a report that Anuchit was assaulted and detained by a group of Chinese nationals, but managed to escape and seek help from condo staff.
Initially, the police safely rescued Anuchit, who reported that he wanted to earn income and found a social media advertisement recruiting people to open wallet accounts for online product transactions, offering 1,500 baht per account. Interested, he contacted the job poster to apply and was immediately accepted. As he had no transportation, the employer offered to pick him up at his home.
Later, a Chinese man and a Thai woman came to pick him up and took him to the condo. They instructed him to open two bank accounts. After opening the accounts, the group confiscated his ID card and mobile phone, which raised his suspicions. Fearing danger, he pretended ignorance. The Chinese group eventually trusted him and let him return home. However, noticing suspicious activity with over 400,000 baht flowing through the accounts, he feared he was a mule victim for a Chinese gang and decided to ask the bank to freeze all the funds.
After the freeze, the Chinese man and Thai woman came to his house, ransacked it, and forced him onto a motorcycle to the condo where the incident occurred. They threatened to kill his entire family if he did not withdraw the bank money and return it. Upon arrival at the condo, the Chinese man grabbed him by the neck and tried to drag him to the 12th floor. Summoning his courage, Anuchit fought back and escaped to seek help from condo staff before alerting the police.
Meanwhile, while officers were assisting Anuchit, a Thai woman whom the victim identified as one of the suspects came down from the elevator, apparently following him. Police confronted her and identified her as Ms. Da, 26 years old. They then inspected a room on the 13th floor and apprehended a 27-year-old Chinese man named Li. They seized methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a laptop computer, and several bank books for investigation.
Additionally, police detained another suspected Chinese man. All suspects were taken for interrogation, and the investigation is ongoing. No further details have been released yet. Updates will be provided as the situation develops.