A THAI MAN was arrested today (Mar. 2) on the charges of defrauding the parents of students studying at a well-known international school by offering to get student visas for a fee but cutting them off upon receiving the initial payment, TV Channel 7 said.
Metropolitan police had been tipped off by complaints filed at its IDMB.Bangkok Facebook page that a man who called himself Mr. Ball Chaipenying had infiltrated the Line group of the parents of students of a prominent international school and posted an advertisement offering to get student visas for their children to study abroad.
The fraud took place in March last year with many parents being fooled by this scammer but after paying part of the fee upfront he blocked all communication channels with them.
However, just three victims showed up to file complaints of being swindled out of 100,000 baht each for a total of 300,000 baht in the student visa fraud.
After investigation revealed that the suspect’s real name is Mr. Patipol, or Ball, 33, an arrest warrant was issued for him by Thonburi Court on December 7, 2022 and he was tracked down and arrested yesterday.
The suspect confessed to fraud charges but said he mounted the scam because he was going through financial difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A background check shows the suspect had previously committed a similar offence with there being another arrest warrant on fraud charges issued for him on June 24, 2022.
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Pixelated image of the suspect. Photo: Naewna
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