Picture courtesy of News1 live

 

A shocking crime unfolded in Pattaya as a Chinese tourist was abducted and robbed of over 230,000 baht by men disguising themselves as police officers.

 

The incident happened early Thursday morning at 5.30am. CCTV footage shows two men, dressed in dark clothing, forcing 52-year-old Lin Yifan into a car near a North Pattaya Road food stall.

 

He had just finished dining with friends, who had gone their separate ways. Lin was waiting for a ride he had ordered via an app.

 

Witnesses, at first, thought it was a routine police arrest and did not intervene. However, this was far from an ordinary encounter. The perpetrators, driving a white SUV, wore black hoodies and swiftly pushed Lin into their vehicle. Despite his efforts to resist, Lin was dragged away as the SUV accelerated from the scene.

 

Lin later recounted the ordeal to Pattaya City Police. He described being bound and threatened with an unspecified weapon within the car. The robbers, communicating in a blend of Thai and English, searched him thoroughly, seizing 15,000 baht in cash, two iPhones, and his eyeglasses.

 

The criminals then made a bold move by transferring an additional 150,000 baht from Lin’s Chinese banking application. After this, they abandoned him at a shooting range, located about 9 kilometres from the initial kidnapping spot.

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod

 

Once freed, Lin immediately sought assistance and filed a report with the authorities. The total amount lost exceeded 230,000 baht. Investigations are ongoing as law enforcement continues its search for the suspects. The brazen nature of this crime has left both tourists and locals on edge.

 

Authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant, particularly around Pattaya’s busy areas, and to report any suspicious activity to the police.

 

The search intensifies as Pattaya City Police work tirelessly to bring the culprits to justice. The daring heist has prompted a wider call for increased security measures to protect both residents and visitors alike.

 

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-07-12

 

 

He had just finished dining with friends 

 

at 05.30 ???  Normal people call that breakfast

Dam, down go the Chinese tourist numbers again!

How do we know that they were fake cops?

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Chinese tourist was abducted and robbed of over 230,000 baht

This will likely cost Thailand about 1 million tourists.  Maybe more.   

 

Of course, things could be MUCH worse.   After those tourists died in Laos from methanol poisoning the loss of revenue has to be in the billions.  That's for a country with not many billions of Kip.   Oh, yea, Kip.  Trillions then.  

 

If this happens to the Chinese, it's all over....This guy lived in Chiang Mai.    It is thought that Sobhraj murdered at least 20 tourists in South and Southeast Asia including 14 in Thailand.  He was convicted and jailed in India from 1976 to 1997.

"The Never Ending Tales of Woe", from the land called Pattaya. It seems like daily there's just another crazy incident in that God forsaken town. 

 

There should be special levels of punishment for people who impersonate law enforcement officers, for instance a mandatory 20 years added to whatever sentence they're given, that might serve as some kind of deterrent. 

Going to go for a wild stab in the dark here.

Er how about finding out who owns the account where the 150,000 was sent to 🙄🙈

Feel bad for him, but hopefully the news gets back to China and less of them come.

I don't believe this story...yesterday I read that Thailand was the safest country in the world for tourists😕

If he finished dinner 5.30 am I guess he was Very Very drunk. The story stinks!

1000s of Chinese just changed their travel plans... Vietnam will be the winner here.

It wouldn’t be hard to track down the money 💰 in someone’s bank account! Bold move? More like a stupid move lol 😂 15,000 baht cash on him after breakfast seem like a fishy story 

Has that white SUV not cropped up in other crime incidents?

1 hour ago, Cabradelmar said:

1000s of Chinese just changed their travel plans... Vietnam will be the winner here.

Good point.   No.tourists or Chinese are ever robbed there. 

"The search intensifies as Pattaya City Police work tirelessly "😂

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

I don't believe this story...yesterday I read that Thailand was the safest country in the world for tourists😕

 

Plus this alleged incident is is in that world renowned "Family Friendly Resort" of Pattaya, so it simply cannot be true!  

9 hours ago, JoePai said:

He had just finished dining with friends 

 

at 05.30 ???  Normal people call that breakfast

 

9 hours ago, JoePai said:

I suspect that English isn't your native language. In UK English "to dine" can be used formally for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late supper.

7 hours ago, Quentin Zen said:

This will likely cost Thailand about 1 million tourists.  Maybe more.   

 

Of course, things could be MUCH worse.   After those tourists died in Laos from methanol poisoning the loss of revenue has to be in the billions.  That's for a country with not many billions of Kip.   Oh, yea, Kip.  Trillions then.  

 

If this happens to the Chinese, it's all over....This guy lived in Chiang Mai.    It is thought that Sobhraj murdered at least 20 tourists in South and Southeast Asia including 14 in Thailand.  He was convicted and jailed in India from 1976 to 1997.

Why mix up the 2 stories. Charles Sobhraj  “ the serpent” was a serial murderer in the 70s 80s.  At that time no one knew much of the story. It only came out later . Didn’t affect tourism. He’s back at home in Marseille by the way.

The Laos certainly put a few off travel there. Not many bonafide tourists drink bucket cocktails in cheap hostels.

Nothing to do with the drop in Chinese tourists to Thailand. Most come on “ all inclusive” holidays. Thailand gets its knickers in a twist over any change. One minute they’re preparing for a mass arrival, the next they’re saying there’s a huge drop in numbers. Not news.If anything  , It’s their fault they are attracting the worst type of tourists. 

Pattaya seems to be a risky place to go to nowadays because of crime and general violence. If you don't experience these, the bar girls will rob you of your valuables while the lady boys will steal your gold necklace or wallet.

7 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

How do we know that they were fake cops?

Yes what's the difference between them and real fake cops?

These cops sure look interested.

 

 

The one on the left is playing Candy Crush and the one in the middle is mentally screwing her. 

3 minutes ago, geisha said:

Why mix up the 2 stories. Charles Sobhraj  “ the serpent” was a serial murderer in the 70s 80s.  At that time no one knew much of the story. It only came out later . Didn’t affect tourism. He’s back at home in Marseille by the way.

The Laos certainly put a few off travel there. Not many bonafide tourists drink bucket cocktails in cheap hostels.

Nothing to do with the drop in Chinese tourists to Thailand. Most come on “ all inclusive” holidays. Thailand gets its knickers in a twist over any change. One minute they’re preparing for a mass arrival, the next they’re saying there’s a huge drop in numbers. Not news.If anything  , It’s their fault they are attracting the worst type of tourists. 

Great series not long ago, The Serpent, must remember in the 70s Pattaya was not that well known, many US forces the early part, no Internet, only lonely planet.

12 hours ago, webfact said:

A shocking crime unfolded in Pattaya as a Chinese tourist was abducted and robbed of over 230,000 baht by men disguising themselves as police officers.

From a country recently voted the safest place to visit.... I find this hard to believe.

Whats the difference between fake cops and the real fake cops 

Between transferring a bunch of money to someone's account and stealing IPhones that can be traced and tracked, it shouldn't take long to solve this one. 

 

If the victim can afford the fee.

 

7 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

How do we know that they were fake cops?

 

Clue is in the report:

Quote

men disguising themselves as police officers.

 

Real ones would have been the other way round 

I hope fake cops start robbing some Indians so they get scared and stop coming too. 🤞

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

There should be special levels of punishment for people who impersonate law enforcement officers, for instance a mandatory 20 years added to whatever sentence they're given, that might serve as some kind of deterrent. 

 

Wouldn't the entire RTP have to be locked up then 😄 ...?

That's scary. Getting abducted .... could have got killed . 

 

14 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It seems like daily there's just another crazy incident in that God forsaken town. 

Yes, most of the negative stories are coming out of Pattaya it seems.