Police had no warrant for raid on luxury house in Pattaya, lawyer claims

[webfact]

 

Popular Channel 3 TV show Hone Krasae investigated the case of the police in Pattaya who went to the house of a Chinese man at the Phoenix Country Club on Wednesday of last week, reported Sanook.

 

Two policemen were shot in a hail of bullets.

 

The man in the house - Zhang Yang who is now in custody - has claimed he thought he was being abducted by evil men. 

 

The police say they were just serving a search warrant in connection with online gambling. 

 

 

Video shown on the TV show showed men out of uniform storming the property and the Chinese man running from a pool then firing ten shots from behind the door of a bedroom. 

 

Yang's lawyer Anirut Khongsap said that as far as he knew the police did not have a search warrant.

 

He said his client was a businessman involved in real estate and Bitcoin - his aim was to build a housing estate for long term foreigners. 

 

A man the TV show just called "P" said he was the gardener and gave evidence of seeing the men running from four cars. 

 

 

The lawyer said his client can't speak Thai and the cops didn't even have an interpreter with them.

 

His client's wife was elsewhere in the house at the time. 

 

Former deputy chief of the met police Wichai Sangpraphai played devil's advocate and explained proper police procedure. 

 

He said that police serving a search warrant did not need to be in uniform but must have ID and explain clearly who they are and what is their purpose. 

 

 

Chinese media has claimed that the police did none of this. 

 

Yang - also known as Leo - remains in custody while the police are recovering in hospital from their wounds. 

 

The case has caused widespread concern in Thailand. Questions remain as to why a legitimate businessman would have a high powered weapon in his possession. 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-05-29

 

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[Deli]

Not always a friend of the BiB's but that this Chinese isn't following the rules, even the blind can see. Let's start with possesing firearms and shooting at cops... dig deeper and you'll find.

[worgeordie]

A very rich man....11 people running towards your house, they dont look like

Police,he understandably thinks he is going to be kidnapped for a ransom,

he might have heard it's happened here before........

 

regards Worgeordie

[khunPer]

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

Questions remain as to why a legitimate businessman would have a high powered weapon in his possession.

Yes, that's a suspensions part of the story from the beginning, there must be more to it than what has been revealed so far in the news...????

[wadman]

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that police serving a search warrant did not need to be in uniform but must have ID and explain clearly who they are and what is their purpose. 

 

It is pretty clear that police were running into and storming the house first without having served a search warrant. 

 

How can you storm into a house without having served a search warrant first (unless there were serious actions taking place that justifies such)? 

 

If they are allowed (somehow) to storm and enter the house first, what's the point of having a seach warrant at all?

[4MyEgo]

44 minutes ago, webfact said:

A man the TV show just called "P" said he was the gardener and gave evidence of seeing the men running from four cars. 

 

Let see if his story changes in due course, or he goes missing and the search warrant turns up. Anything is possible in Thailand, remember the Red Bull thing.

[RafPinto]

What's that?

 

He said his client was a businessman involved in real estate and Bitcoin - his aim was to build a housing estate for long term foreigners.

[CharlieH]

The worrying part is the behaviour and action of the Police, this guy has money, znd a good lawyer, what about those that dont and are subjected to this abuse of power and position ?

I suggest if they handled it correctly, drove up, sealed the exits, presented the warrant correctly, No shots and no one would have been hurt.

In my view the action was wreckless and endangered lives.

[robblok]

6 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

The worrying part is the behaviour and action of the Police, this guy has money, znd a good lawyer, what about those that dont and are subjected to this abuse of power and position ?

I suggest if they handled it correctly, drove up, sealed the exits, presented the warrant correctly, No shots and no one would have been hurt.

In my view the action was wreckless and endangered lives.

I am of the opinion if the guy did not own an ILLIGAL machine pistol. Something nobody should own and is clearly illigal there would be no problem.

 

Its normal to rush a search warrant unless you want the criminals to have time to destroy all evidence. Its the same all over the world. You rush in making sure the criminals can't get rid of evidence.

 

In other topics they showed that there was uniformed police too. This guys i just a criminal who used a gun to resist arrest. Who in his right mind would think that 20+ people storming to your house would be criminals. Now a small party of people maybe .. but this big a group not likely. 

[CharlieH]

7 minutes ago, robblok said:

I am of the opinion if the guy did not own an ILLIGAL machine pistol. Something nobody should own and is clearly illigal there would be no problem.

 

Its normal to rush a search warrant unless you want the criminals to have time to destroy all evidence. Its the same all over the world. You rush in making sure the criminals can't get rid of evidence.

 

In other topics they showed that there was uniformed police too. This guys i just a criminal who used a gun to resist arrest. Who in his right mind would think that 20+ people storming to your house would be criminals. Now a small party of people maybe .. but this big a group not likely. 

You could also go one step further, if the guy wasnt in Thailand it wouldnt have happened.

I think agree to disagree works better. ????

[sammieuk1]

My guess is thin times for plod decided to raid and plunder forgot the dodgy occupiers might be tooled up now all over the media typical Thai mess to be forgotten about in a week or two????

[blackcab]

10 minutes ago, robblok said:

I am of the opinion if the guy did not own an ILLIGAL machine pistol. Something nobody should own and is clearly illigal there would be no problem.

 

The weapon was actually a pistol housed in a frame that allows for greater accuracy when firing. It wasn't a machine pistol, even though it looks like one.

 

I fully understand your point though, and I highly doubt that the pistol he used was correctly licensed to him.

[Yellowtail]

If the police want to knock, wait, and ask to be allowed in, what is the point of the search warrant? 

 

In the US they simultaneously knock and announce themselves and then (depending on their suspicions) knock the door down. 

[trainman34014]

No worries; they can nip down the road and get as many printed as they want like every other wanted document in the country !

[Liverpool Lou]

11 minutes ago, blackcab said:

I highly doubt that the pistol he used was correctly licensed to him.

There's no "highly doubt" about it, foreigners cannot own firearms legally in Thailand.

[Cake Monster]

12 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

If the police want to knock, wait, and ask to be allowed in, what is the point of the search warrant? 

 

In the US they simultaneously knock and announce themselves and then (depending on their suspicions) knock the door down. 

They are also very highly visible in the type of Uniforms Etc that they wear, and use very specific commands to the potential perp.

Police do not just turn up with a warrant in the same clothes they wore out last night brandishing Guns in an open threat.

 

[RichardColeman]

You mean he did not respond to 2 years of letters asking him to come in for a chat ? 

[robblok]

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

You could also go one step further, if the guy wasnt in Thailand it wouldnt have happened.

I think agree to disagree works better. ????

Agreed. Just don't see why anyone who is not into some shady business would have an illigal gun.  Im not buying the fact that the guy is innocent and if he was indeed a criminal it makes sense to execute a search order fast so he can't destroy evidence.

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

They are also very highly visible in the type of Uniforms...

 

 

Not always.

[Emdog]

"claimed he thought he was being abducted by evil men." Well..... um... some people don't have a high opinion of BIB. Wasn't one (or more) of them involved in a kidnapping a few years back?  

[VocalNeal]

And there's me thinking the whole home invasion thing was unwarranted?

[ukrules]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Questions remain as to why a legitimate businessman would have a high powered weapon in his possession.

Fear of being ambushed and kidnapped is a valid reason for purchasing a firearm I believe - for a Thai.

 

I wonder if he grabbed his wifes gun when the kidnappers arrived?

 

[ukrules]

If I'm ever being kidnapped and there's a gun around I wouldn't consider the licensing situation before picking it up, etc

 

Many Thais have guns and we're in Thailand = there are guns everywhere, it might not have belonged to him.

 

I can fully believe that the police were there to shake down the 'rich guy'. I'm reminded of Johan Van Laarhoven here.

 

[jacko45k]

So my choice is to believe The Thai Police, A Chinese guy who has guns, or a lawyer....... 

[JamieM]

All of the posters here defending this guys actions seem to be overlooking one (well a few) things.

 

He's a foreigner that opened fire on the Police with a nasty looking weapon that is likely an illegal weapon, he also shot 2 police officers.

 

If this guy were a westerner, the very same people that are defending this guy would be screaming, burn him, burn him alive! 

 

It's very interesting that for this guy, being a Chinese national seems to make all the difference to the view of some people posting on here and how they feel about the whole situation isn't it? very interesting indeed ???? 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by JamieM

[BritManToo]

20 minutes ago, JamieM said:

t's very interesting that for this guy, being a Chinese national seems to make all the difference to some people posting on here and how they view the whole situation isn't it? very interesting indeed 

What made the difference for me was the 'house invaders' wearing t-shirts, jeans and flip-flops and carrying guns.

[JamieM]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

What made the difference for me was the 'house invaders' wearing t-shirts, jeans and flip-flops and carrying guns.

Feel free to show me the posts where you have defended westerners being arrested by plain clothes Thai police officers.  Genuinely curious to see them.

 

Crime agencies and intelligence agencies all over the world use plain clothes officers during arrests like this all the time and that is a fact.

[BritManToo]

Just now, JamieM said:

Feel free to show me the posts where you have defended westerners being arrested by plain clothes Thai police officers.  Genuinely curious to see them.

 

Crime agencies and intelligence agencies all over the world use plain clothes officers during arrests like this all the time and that is a fact.

I always had 3-5 uniformed officers banging on my door in the UK when they wanted to arrest or question me. And outside my house would be a marked police car, or 3.

Edited May 29, 2021 by BritManToo

[KhaoYai]

6 hours ago, CharlieH said:

I suggest if they handled it correctly, drove up, sealed the exits, presented the warrant correctly, No shots and no one would have been hurt.

In my view the action was wreckless and endangered lives.

This is what happens when they watch too much US cop TV - they all become SWAT heroes.

[kynikoi]

6 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Let see if his story changes in due course, or he goes missing and the search warrant turns up. Anything is possible in Thailand, remember the Red Bull thing.

 

 

The search warrants will be written post facto. There is no technology in place to dispute it. Could be 150 years ago. It's all paper.