Five immigration officers have been handed down a 15-year jail sentence for extorting 10 million baht worth of cryptocurrency from a Chinese businessman who was found to be in illegal possession of a Thai ID card in March of the previous year.

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases delivered the verdict against the officers involved after a Thai individual led them to apprehend the Chinese businessman, who was unlawfully holding a Thai ID card.

The officers, identified as Pol Maj Sorawit Inlab, Pol Lt Suriya Rukkhachart, Pol Snr Sgt Maj Peerasak Yimpaiboon, Pol Lt Prawitpol Jangreed, and Pol Maj Jirapat Boonnam, all from Immigration Division 1, were found guilty.

In addition to the five officers, a 58-year-old Thai man named Surachai Pattanachaicharoen was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the group of immigration police to arrest the Chinese man.

The incident took place on March 10 last year when the five policemen abducted the Chinese national, referred to as Xi, and his Thai interpreter, Namee Sae Lee, 38, from a residence located on Pracha Songkroh 2 Road in the Din Daeng district.

Instead of taking the Chinese man to the Immigration Bureau, the officers transported him to various undisclosed locations, where they demanded a payment of 10 million baht worth of cryptocurrency in exchange for his freedom.

The interpreter, Ms. Namee, took the matter to the Din Daeng police station on March 20, 2023, filing a formal complaint against the officers.