Thai woman arrested in onsen credit card theft, Chinese suspects involved

[snoop1130]

Photo via Facebook/ ดาวแปดแฉก

 

By Petch Petpailin

 

Police arrested a Thai woman at her condominium yesterday, January 7, for conspiring with Chinese suspects to commit credit card theft at several onsen establishments in Bangkok.

 

Numerous onsen patrons came forward to issue warnings and seek justice after their credit cards were stolen following visits to various onsens in Bangkok. The stolen cards were used by the thieves, resulting in losses exceeding 200,000 baht for the victims.

 

The victims reported that they stored their credit cards and other belongings in onsen lockers, which were secured with specific wristbands provided by the onsen staff. However, the locker rooms lacked CCTV cameras due to privacy concerns, leaving victims with no evidence to identify the suspects.

 

After the story gained traction on Thai social media, police intensified their investigation and eventually arrested one of the suspects, a 22 year old Thai woman named Thanchanok. She was apprehended in her condominium on the 38th floor in the Wattana district of Bangkok.

 

Thanchanok confessed that she posed as an onsen client to obtain wristbands. Each wristband contained a magnetic stripe reader, enabling users to unlock lockers by tapping it.

 

 

She admitted to stealing the wristbands and, with the assistance of Chinese accomplices, replicating them. She then used the counterfeit wristbands to unlock others’ lockers and steal victims’ credit cards.

 

Thanchanok faces two charges:

 

• Section 335 of the Criminal Code: Committing theft at night by damaging any barrier intended to protect persons or property. The penalty is imprisonment for one to five years and a fine ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 baht.
• Section 269/5 of the Criminal Code: Illegally using another person’s electronic card or device, causing damage to the individual or the public. The penalty is imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.

 

Police are continuing their investigation to apprehend the remaining Chinese suspects involved in the case.

 

Officers have not yet confirmed whether this scam gang also engaged in credit card theft and fraud at other locations, such as the MRT train in Bangkok, as alleged by other victims.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2025-01-08

 

 

[JoePai]

Anyone know what an 'onsen' is ?

[Tropicalevo]

Quick work by the BIBs. Well done. 

[marin]

7 minutes ago, JoePai said:

Anyone know what an 'onsen' is ?

Japanese spa and bath place. 

[JoePai]

14 hours ago, marin said:

Japanese spa and bath place. 

Thank you