Speaking at a press conference at the Immigration Bureau headquarters in Bangkok yesterday (Aug 19), Immigration Bureau Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang confirmed that the 27-year-old Chinese national who he identified only as “Mr Liaw” has been apprehended although he did not give specifics on the time or date of the arrest.
Liaw was wanted for operating a debt collection business without permission, specifically the ‘Plutus Cat Pro’ application, possessing the personal details of people’s credit cards and debit cards would could be manipulated to their detriment, and working in the Kingdom without work permit.
The arrest came after officers from the Center for the Suppression of Migrants and Illegal Immigration under the Immigration Bureau investigated the loan provision network in Bangkok and discovered that some members of the network had moved to Phuket.
“The network had been contacting their debtors who had received a loan through the app,” Lt Gen Sompong said. “Police investigated this further until it became clear they had an office presence in Koh Kaew. We then filed a request to the Phuket Provincial Court to issue a search warrant.
“Officers went to the premises where they found Liaw being supported by 19 staff members. Officers seized a total of 43 items as evidence, comprising of debtor lists, SIM cards, mobile phones, and laptops,” Lt Gen Sompong added.
“From checking Liaw’s personal laptop, officers retrieved more than 20,000 names recorded as his debtors.
“After questioning, staff confirmed to officers they were instructed to call between 10-15 debtors per day. The staff confirmed they received a salary of between B10,000-15,000 per month with an additional B8 commission per debtor successfully secured. They added that the debtors had to transfer their money to Liaw through the staff’s bank accounts.”
Lt Gen Sompong confirmed that Liaw was taken to Phuket City Police station where he was charged with the offences previously listed.