Thailand's Daily Crime Pill #3: Japanese Chef Claims Big-Shot Connections
He duped a fellow Japanese national in forking over 2 million to help with 3 civil court cases. The chef ran off with the money to open a Pathum Thani restaurant.
Dear expats and readers,
As per usual, my best ideas come from True Crime Thailand readers.
I got an email from one reader asking if I could do a story on the Red Bull heir’s son who crashed a Ferrari and killed a Bangkok cop back in 2012 — driving off from the scene and fleeing Thailand after.
Analysis of the CCTV footage clocked the Ferrari’s speed at an estimated 177kmh. He dragged the deceased, Wichian Klanprasert, for over 100 meters across the Bangkok pavement.
Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, the accused — and who goes by the nickname “Boss” — saw all charges against him dropped in 2020.
As with any high-profile crime involving the affluent and elite, the story doesn’t start nor does it end with the Big Crime that dominates headlines.
The Yoovidhaya family has a history — from the grandfather who co-founded the Red Bull empire, the father and heir to the energy drink fortune whose name was found in the Panama Papers, to the impunity that elite status brings in Thailand — even in the death of a Royal Thai Police officer.
I have a few other stories to finish first, namely: the 2nd edition of Chuck Ditlefsen’s case, which has been brewing for over 3 months now — and which will be a sure treat for True Crime Thailand readers; the legendary story of Chinese-Thai mafia boss Yi Koh Hong, which will also serve as a full scope tale of early 20th century crime in Thailand; and the 2008 murder of Mr. Poretsky in Chiang Mai.
I’m behind on getting these stories out, but the bulk of the research for them has been wrapped up, which is often the most time-consuming part of the writing.
In Ditlsefsen’s case, I’m glad for the delay and you should be too — I’ve been contacted by 3 more people who knew Chuck closely and who have provided details about his life that will paint a richer picture of the case, and perhaps provide a conclusion to his fate.
With all that said, let’s take a dose of the Crime Pill — today’s edition will be straight and to the point with one feature story.
Feature Story
Japanese Fraudster, Mr. Shoji Yamada, Swindles 2 Million Baht and Opens Pathum Thani Restaurant
The Japanese national claimed connections with big-shots (คนใหญ่คนโต, khon-yak-khon-dtoo) in Thailand that could resolve civil court cases -- plot twist: there were no big-shots and Mr. Yamada stole 2 million baht.
On May 4th, 2021, police in Pathum Thani arrested Mr. Shoji Yamada, aged 47, at a popular but unnamed Japanese restaurant in the province's Thanyaburi district.
Mr. Yamada touted big-shot connections in Thailand that could resolve 3 civil court cases that a fellow Japanese national was facing. The victim forked over 2,060,000 baht to Mr. Yamada to assist in the legal matters.
Predictably, instead of resolving the court cases, Mr. Yamada ran off with the 2 million baht and opened the Japanese restaurant where he was later detained by police.
The victim who gave Mr. Yamada the 2 million baht lost the 3 civil court cases, which resulted in further losses of 40 million baht. The full details of these civil court cases was left out of the report, except for a detail that they were related to construction contracts.
Royal Thai Police used the PIBICS and BIOMETRICS databases to track down Mr. Yamada. The report states that he had been living in Thailand for more than 10 years and is married to a Thai woman.
Source: https://www.khaosod.co.th/crime/news_6378421
My Take on the Fraudster Chef:
I chose this story for a very particular reason, and I’ll leave my commentary to be short and sweet.
I’m always curious as to how readers find me. I keep track of this data as it helps guide me in the stories I choose to write about.
One thing that has been a pleasant surprise is learning about the non-Western expat communities in Thailand through the stories I do.
Whether it’s Japanese nationals in Mr. Yamada’s story — which, after I published, a few Japanese in Thailand have followed True Crime Thailand — or other cases, like the Singaporean national who was taken down along with other Chinese and Thai nationals for a boiler room operation.
That boiler room story in particular rallied a great number of expat Singaporeans and others in Singapore with connections to Thailand to get in touch with me about the case.
I plan on doing a follow-up on that particular story because so many expressed that they knew who the man was and they even gave me leads on his past business dealings — an amulet business in Singapore known as Singhthai.
As for the Japanese fraudster chef?
I’d be curious if any of my readers in or around Pathum Thani recognized him or his restaurant.
That’s all for today…
Until tomorrow’s Crime Pill, stay safe out there everybody.
- True Crime Thailand