Cyber police arrested a 23-year-old photographer at his residence after he became the subject of an arrest warrant for posting private images and videos of his ex-girlfriend on social media. He denies the charges, claiming he acted out of recklessness and impulse.
At 06:00 on 9 July 2026, Pol. Maj. Gen. Wiwat Khamchaman, Deputy Commander of the Cyber Crime Suppression Division, along with Pol. Maj. Gen. Komkrit Sukthai, Commander of Division 3, Pol. Col. Theeranont Manmongkol, Head of the Anti-Child Sexual Exploitation Group of the Cyber Crime Division, and officers from Division 3, the Cyber Crime Division, and the Technology Crime Suppression Center (TICAC) executed a search warrant from the Sakon Nakhon Provincial Court at a dormitory room in the Dong Pattana community, Dong Pattana 7 Alley, That Choeng Chum Subdistrict, Mueang District, Sakon Nakhon Province. They arrested Noppapon Phrasalak, 23, a native of Sakon Nakhon, wanted under criminal court warrant No. 3731/2569 for "importing obscene computer data accessible to the public into computer systems, and knowingly disseminating such obscene data."
During the search, numerous studio photography devices were found inside the room. Examination of Noppapon's mobile phone revealed videos recorded with a new girlfriend. Authorities seized camera memory cards, laptops, and flash drives for further evidence investigation.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Wiwat stated the case began on 3 July when a 19-year-old female victim filed a report through a lawyer at Phaya Thai Police Station, accusing Noppapon of distributing obscene clips on social media. The criminal court approved an arrest warrant, and today the suspect was apprehended along with seizure of related evidence for examination.
Initially, Noppapon admitted to posting private images of his ex-girlfriend via the TikTok application to a Discord group named “middam,” which has over 100,000 members. He claimed to have posted to only 2-3 members. Investigators will further question him and check if there are additional victims, most of whom are high school students who hired him for photography but were then blackmailed with the images. Preliminary searches confirmed the existence and posting of these images, which he said was done out of recklessness.
His main income was not from selling clips but from commissioned photography jobs, mostly for high school students wanting personal photos, earning about 20,000 to 30,000 baht monthly. He denies using the images for other profit purposes. Authorities will investigate financial links to any websites; if found, additional charges will be filed.
The Deputy Commander of the Cyber Crime Division advised parents, especially of high school girls, that taking photos with photographers or keeping private photos carries risks of leaks. Even trusted partners can misuse such photos if the relationship ends, potentially using them for threats or selling.
Lawyer Supasit Siri from Wongkorn Law Office said this case arose after several university students sought help due to threats of private image exposure. Some images were used by gambling websites for promotion. Investigations traced this to commercial exploitation of obscene media on gambling sites, including one linked to a celebrity named Hay Aparporn. The ex-boyfriend, a photographer mainly shooting videos of high school and graduating students, was identified as the source. His pages reportedly offered sexy-style photo shoots.
It is believed to be an organized operation with at least 10 victims; the current victim is the eleventh. The office receives about one similar case daily. While it is difficult to say if intimate photo-taking between lovers is wrong, once digital data is stored on cloud services like Google Drive, it can be exploited if the relationship sours. Such material is often used for blackmail demanding money or assets, leading some victims to financial ruin or even suicidal thoughts. The best advice is to avoid keeping such photos.
Many student victims hesitate to report but contact the office for help. Numerous such cases exist. Many mistakenly believe that leaked clips should be ignored, but doing so turns them into commercial victims as their clips are linked online, supporting illicit viewership. This may also lead viewers towards gambling instead.