A 28-year-old Chinese tourist has reportedly lost more than 400,000 baht (approximately S$15,800) after two men she met through social media allegedly deceived her during her holiday in Thailand.
The woman, identified as Meng Linghui, lodged a police report at Huai Khwang Police Station in Bangkok at around 11pm on Nov 11. She was accompanied by her younger brother and is seeking legal action against the men.
According to reports, Meng arrived in Thailand in late October and became acquainted with the two men through Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform.
The pair allegedly befriended her and offered to show her around the country.
They subsequently arranged to meet her in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district before bringing her to the Nana Plaza area.
Alleged Cash Exchange And Smartphone Transactions
During their outings, the two men allegedly persuaded Meng to exchange Thai baht and Chinese yuan, with the transactions reportedly amounting to nearly 200,000 baht.
The group later visited Central Rama 9 in Bangkok and Central Pattaya in Chon Buri.
During these visits, the men allegedly claimed they were experiencing problems with their banking services and asked Meng to help purchase smartphones on their behalf.
They also requested additional cash, reportedly promising to return the money once their banking issues were resolved.
However, the promised repayments allegedly never materialised.
Chinese Tourist Discovers Bank Account Frozen
After returning to Bangkok, Meng reportedly contacted the men to request her money back.
Instead of repaying her, they allegedly gave excuses and avoided settling the outstanding amount.
Things became more complicated when Meng discovered that her Chinese bank account had been frozen.
She reportedly found out that money transferred into her account had come from other individuals who were also allegedly victims of fraudulent transactions.
The combined value of the cash exchanges and smartphone purchases exceeded 400,000 baht, according to her complaint.
Police Investigating Allegations
Thai police have since called in one male suspect for questioning.
However, the man denied the allegations against him.
Investigators have asked Meng to submit additional evidence to support her complaint. Police will review the information before deciding whether to seek an arrest warrant through the appropriate legal process.
The case remains under investigation, and the allegations against the men have not been established in court.