The suspect was arrested around 11.45pm on Thursday (Aug 30) at the international arrivals hall, as reported by the Phuket Immigration airport division in a concise Facebook post yesterday (Aug 31).
The report did not include any details regarding the suspect’s name, age, or nationality. The attached photo depicted a woman seated in a plastic armchair with Phuket Immigration officers standing behind her. The woman was holding two passports, although the image quality was inadequate for identifying the issuing country of the documents.
Oddly, Phuket Immigration still disclosed the woman’s identity by sharing a news article by Matichon. The story had been published by the media outlet merely an hour before Phuket Immigration released their own official statement.
According to Matichon, the suspect has been identified as Jian Qi, a 44-year-old Chinese national. She arrived in Phuket on Shanghai Airlines flight FM831 from Shanghai, with a landing time of 21.02pm, as documented by FlightRadar24.
Upon reaching the immigration control counter, Ms Jian presented a passport bearing the name of Yi Chih Han, a 28-year-old Chinese citizen.
However, the officers were alerted by the biometric control system that the face of the person in front of them only matched the passport photo by 30%.
Ms Jian was unable to substantiate her identity with any supplementary documents, while Shanghai Airlines personnel informed Phuket Immigration officers that no individual named Yi Chih Han had boarded the flight from China.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, Ms Jian endeavored to convince Phuket Immigration that she had undergone several aesthetic surgeries before finally admitting to using another person’s passport.
"When aked about the use of a different individual’s passport for travel, the accused refused to answer the question," reported Matichon.
According to Phuket Immigration’s own account, Ms Jian was taken to Sakhu Police Station and charged under Section 137 of the Thai Criminal Code (providing false information to a government official that could result in harm to others) and Section 269/11 of the Thai Criminal Code (using someone else’s passport that could result in harm to others).
Punishments under Section 137 could include up to six months in prison, a fine of up to B10,000, or both. Penalties under Section 269/11 might involve up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to B200,000, or both. Section 269/11 also stipulates that lending your passport to someone else for illicit use is also subject to legal consequences.