A Swedish man in Pattaya who claimed his bank account had been emptied of 100,000 baht has previous for drugs and weapons offences, as well as trying to bribe police.
Henrik Christian Koch, 49, filed a complaint with Pattaya police on Friday after discovering money had been withdrawn from his Bangkok Bank account at the Central Festival Pattaya Beach without his knowledge.
Koch told police how he left 100,000 baht in the account before returning to work in his homeland for more than a year.
He said he didn’t touch the account but after recently returning to Thailand he attempted to make a withdrawal only to discover that 1.38 baht remained in his account.
An investigation by staff at the branch found that the withdrawals had been made via internet banking, with one withdrawal totalling 90,000 baht and another 9,900 baht.
Koch said he didn’t make the withdrawals nor asked anyone to make them on his behalf.
Investigations into the matter remain ongoing.
However, this isn’t the first time Henrik Koch has had dealings with police in Pattaya.
In 2010, Koch was arrested as police carried out an extensive drugs crackdown in the notorious Walking Street area of the city.
Koch was arrested for possession of class 1 restricted drugs.
A search of his room at the Four Season Hotel on Pattaya’s Third Road found a haul of ice, yaba, cocaine and ecstasy along with his drug using girlfriend. Police also found a .38 calibre pistol with 9 rounds of ammunition.
But that wasn’t all.
Koch also allegedly tried to offer a one million baht bribe to Pattaya police in order to avoid the drug charges.
Police charged Koch and his girlfriend with possession of an unregistered firearm, multiple charges for possession and distribution of class 1 drugs and attempting to bribe a police officer.
Police said that Koch was part of a transnational drug syndicate involved in the supply and distribution of drugs in Pattaya.
It is not known if Koch was ever jailed for the 2010 offences.
It is also not known that given the extensive and serious charges against him, why Koch was allowed to return to Thailand.
(Source:-Thaivisa News)