Crime DSI Arrests Chinese Tycoon Linked to Collapsed Government Building Project, Hunts 3 Thais

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Nothing like a message

 

Nothing like a massage, IMHO.

 

[Banana7]

I understand that the directors hire/determine/appoint the Managing Director of the company, and this person is responsible for managing the company overall, same as a Chief Executive Officer or President. Who is the managing director? 

[Banana7]

19 minutes ago, saintdomingo said:

When I first came I was told that buying a property through a company with Thai nominee directors was illegal but common practice. Nobody had been prosecuted or lost the property. That was close to thirty years ago and there have been periodic scares about a crackdown but I am unaware of many if any problems.

One way you can lose property, like a house, is if you don't pay taxes. A friend bought land and a house, put it in company name. Four years later the tax department show up at his door and said we haven't received any tax returns from you and we don't think you are running a company/business. We are confiscating your house.

[saintdomingo]

1 minute ago, Banana7 said:

One way you can lose property, like a house, is if you don't pay taxes. A friend bought land and a house, put it in company name. Fours later the tax department show up his door and said we haven't received any tax returns from you and we don't think you are running a company/business. We are confiscating your house.

Nasty. But if you have a company you are required to file tax returns. Did he lose the house or brown envelope his way out of it.?

[Banana7]

1 minute ago, saintdomingo said:

Nasty. But if you have a company you are required to file tax returns. Did he lose the house or brown envelope his way out of it.?

He lost the house and got booted out of Thailand. Now in Cambodia.

[thaichiro]

Odds on being convicted and serving time?…..

[JJ-Thailand]

1 hour ago, crazykopite said:

Got to be a foreigner can’t be a Thai National this guy will be made the scapegoat 

He is too rich. They must find a poor Burmese worker that mixed the cement incorrectly on the first floor.

[trainman34014]

The Thai's will have fled of course and getting them back will be another story like the Red Bull Filth !

[smew]

Released and all charges cleared it was all an error.

 

[saintdomingo]

1 hour ago, Banana7 said:

He lost the house and got booted out of Thailand. Now in Cambodia.

Very nasty for him.

[PETERTHEEATER]

The owning structure of this Company is a separate issue from the collapse of the unfinished structure and the cynic in me might conclude that the arrest of this individual is a deflection, an attempt to show progress in the investigation. Let's see some announcement, founded on valid structural investigation as to why the building fell down. Tofu deg is high on my list.

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, saintdomingo said:

When I first came I was told that buying a property through a company with Thai nominee directors was illegal but common practice. Nobody had been prosecuted or lost the property. That was close to thirty years ago and there have been periodic scares about a crackdown but I am unaware of many if any problems.

Quite. We would have seen the same distorted headline if he had failed to file tax return.

Some want to lap it up like blotting paper.

[saintdomingo]

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

Quite. We would have seen the same distorted headline if he had failed to file tax return.

Some want to lap it up like blotting paper.

Well it says that failure to file tax returns was the problem. But possibly we are at cross purposes. Enough, it is old news, very sad for the person concerned.

[BritScot]

9 hours ago, 1duckyboy said:

If he gets bail, confiscate his passport first.

You don’t need a passport to get out of Thailand especially if your rich. However, poor people come and go all the time without passports.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'm glad the police nabbed this guy and any others (Thai or Chinese) who have culpability in the collapse of the SAOB....

 

But there's still something particularly Thailand-esque given what's occurred about the guy facing, of all things, charges for illegal nominee shareholding....

 

And nothing so far about the deaths of the 50-100 people who died, or will end up being found dead, in the rubble of the collapsed building. Those people deserve at least manslaughter charges against those responsible, if not more.

 

[Gknrd]

Cannot make this stuff up!  Problem is Thai's will not be prosecuted or the law changed.  I mean really just murder for greed IMHO.

[Georgealbert]

UPDATE
China Railway Executive Granted Bail Over Nominee Allegations

 

Picture courtesy of Komchadluek

 

The Criminal Court at Ratchada has granted bail to Mr Chuanling Zhang, a 42-year-old Chinese national and director of China Railway No. 10 (Thailand), in connection with a nominee case linked to the collapse of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) building. Bail was set at 500,000 baht, with conditions including a prohibition on leaving the country without court approval and mandatory reporting to authorities.

 

Mr Zhang, who owns a 49% stake in the company, was taken into custody by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and brought before the court for an initial detention hearing. He faces charges under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), specifically Sections 37 and 41, for allegedly using Thai nationals as proxy shareholders in a business activity restricted from foreign ownership. The charges also implicate the company itself for alleged complicity in the violations.

 

The bail decision follows the court’s assessment of the evidence and the relatively moderate maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment attached to the charges. Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong confirmed that the Chinese government has not interfered in the investigation and emphasised that the legal process will proceed independently. The Chinese Embassy has acknowledged Mr Zhang as an employee of a Chinese state-owned enterprise.

 

Minister Tawee underscored that Mr Zhang’s status as a representative of a state-owned entity holds no legal bearing under Thai law, and insisted that the case will be handled impartially. He also noted China’s respect for Thai law and its willingness to support the investigation by sending experts to ensure compliance and assess the circumstances surrounding the building collapse.

 

The investigation into the structural failure of the State Audit Office building continues and is being pursued separately from both the procurement-related and nominee cases.

 

In a related development, the DSI is seeking court approval to detain three Thai nationals,Manas Srianan, Prachuap Sirikhet, and Sophon Meechai, accused of acting as proxy shareholders for China Railway No. 10 (Thailand). The three men surrendered to authorities and were interrogated for over ten hours. They deny any wrongdoing and claim not to have acted on behalf of the Chinese firm.

 

Sophon has agreed to testify, while the other two have opted to submit written statements within 30 days. Investigators have raised concerns about inconsistencies between the suspects’ statements and documented evidence regarding shareholding, board changes, funding sources, and company management.

 

The DSI is also examining links between the three suspects and another Chinese national, Bing Lin Wu, who operates a tyre import-export business in Thailand. Manas and Prachuap previously had business dealings with Bing and Mr Zhang, initially through Suntiphab Property before becoming involved with China Railway No. 10 (Thailand).

 

Sophon claimed he was invited by the other two to become a shareholder and director. His lawyer assisted with clarifying some of the questions during the interview due to apparent confusion.

 

Preliminary financial checks have revealed that the three suspects hold modest bank balances, some amounting to only tens of thousands of baht. Investigators are currently tracing financial transactions to verify the authenticity of shareholding claims.

 

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Komchadluek.

 

-- 2025-04-23

 

 

[ozz1]

500k is nothing when you have millions never to be seen again back to china never accountable

[josephbloggs]

On 4/21/2025 at 9:27 AM, howlee101 said:

I predict a 5000 baht fine along with apologies and the proverbial wai..... and many brown envelopes with millions of baht. To be followed by "after our thorough investigation, it was all a misunderstanding"

Must have taken you ages to come up with that - brilliant!!

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

support the investigation by sending experts to ensure compliance and assess the circumstances surrounding the building collapse.

 

Translates to 'hide the salient facts'

[Peabody]

Bye bye

 

[howlee101]

17 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Must have taken you ages to come up with that - brilliant!!

nah, I used ChatGPT

[watchcat]

On 4/21/2025 at 1:58 AM, jwl53 said:

As I understand it the authorities can sieze any documents as part of a criminal investigation, they will size the passports to stop them fleeing the country

 

But they rarery do, as  in The red bull kid, tony or Yingkuck....