Frenchman claiming police ties arrested for extortion
published : 3 Feb 2023 at 09:35
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Wassayos Ngamkham
A French man has been arrested after allegedly claiming close connections with senior police officers to extort money from many expats in Pattaya.
Police said on Thursday that Herve Leonard, 58, was arrested at a condominium on Phahon Yothin Road in Chatuchak district of Bangkok on Wednesday.
Mr Leonard, 58, was wanted for extortion, fraud and coercion in Pattaya.
Earlier the suspect had been a volunteer supporting police activities and had opportunities to pose for photos with many police officers.
He reportedly approached foreigners who lived in Pattaya, claimed to have close connections with senior police officers and extorted money from them in exchange for his “protection”.
He was arrested earlier but jumped bail and remained at large. He has overstayed his visa since Sept 15, 2020.
To avoid arrest, the foreigner moved every few weeks between Hua Hin, Bangkok and Pattaya and rented rooms while claiming he had lost his passport.
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Vocabulary
- arrest (verb): (of the police) to take someone to a police station because they are believed to have committed a crime - จับกุม
- at large: not having been caught by the police - ลอยนวล, ยังไม่ถูกจับกุม
- coercion: the action of making somebody do something that they do not want to do, using force or threatening to use force - การบีบบังคับ, การขู่เข็ญ
- extortion: the crime of trying to obtain something by force or threat - การขู่กรรโชก รีดไถ
- fraud: the crime of intentionally deceiving someone or cheating in order to gain an advantage or benefit - การฉ้อโกง การหลอกลวง เล่ห์เพทุบาย
- jumped bail: to fail to return for your trial after being permitted to go free on bail -
- overstay: stay in a country for longer than you are allowed to stay, not leaving when your visa to stay in the country ends -
- protection: the act of protecting somebody/something; the state of being protected - การอารักขา, การปกป้อง
- ties: relations; connections - ความสัมพันธ์
- volunteer (noun): someone who is not paid for the work that they do; someone who does something willingly without being required to - อาสาสมัคร
- wanted (adj.): wanted by the police for questioning or arrest, i.e., when the police want to arrest a person but cannot find them - ต้องหา, ต้องสงสัย
