Latest ‘triad’ network boss faces charges
Rangsiman Rome, MP for the Move Forward party, addresses an issue over a Chinese suspect allegedly running a shady business network during a House debate on Wednesday. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)
Police are preparing to bring charges against another accused triad leader for his involvement in another shady business network in Thailand, which set up an unlicensed Chinese association and business school that illegally brought Chinese into the kingdom.
The move was in response to information Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome about a Chinese suspect identified as Yu Xinqi, who allegedly runs another shady business network similar to Chinese businessman Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant, during a House debate on Wednesday had uncovered.
Mr. Rangsiman was told by former massage parlor tycoon and politician Chuvit Kamolvisit that the suspect founded the Shaanxi Association, which is under the jurisdiction of Kannayao Police as a front for triad activities.
The association is reportedly unregistered and operates an illegal business school to issue student visas to its members.
It also has ties to senior state officials, according to Mr Rangsiman.
It has also been suggested that Mr Yu liked to take photos with influential Thais like the prime minister, which he uploaded to social media to entice people in Britain and China to invest.
Citing data from 2020-2021, Mr Rangsiman said the association allegedly illegally brought about 7,000 Chinese members of its network into the kingdom.
Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, said Friday that police coordinated with the immigration department to revoke the suspect’s visa and trace his whereabouts at a luxury home in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district.
Pol General Surachate said the police were already suspicious after Mr Yu appeared with the rich and famous.
“Even I was captured in a photograph [with him] without realizing it,” he said. “I think the association was supported by Thais.”
Police plan to file charges against the suspect for investment fraud and founding associations without a license, he said, adding that Mr. Yu had been subpoenaed for questioning to determine whether his home had been used as the association’s base.
The Kannayao police are also being targeted for failing to investigate the association.