Arrests made after man beaten in crypto dispute

Nine Vietnamese men have been arrested in Bangkok on charges of illegally detaining a Thai woman and a Taiwanese man and physically assaulting the latter to force him to pay a debt of 1.7 million baht for the purchase of cryptocurrency.
Immigration officers began an investigation after receiving information that a group of foreign nationals had detained a couple over an unpaid debt, said Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nutchanart, deputy chief of the Immigration Bureau (IB).
The Thai woman was identified as Suchada, 33, and the Taiwanese man as Li, 21. No surnames were given.
Investigators found that the suspects were Vietnamese nationals running a digital currency trading business in Thailand. They stayed in a house in Lat Phao Soi 41 in the Chankasem area of Chatuchak district.
Immigration police monitoring the activities of those inside the house noted that many people were staying there and acting suspiciously. On Wednesday, some of the men got into a car with fake licence plates to leave the house. The officers then tracked down them to a warehouse in Suphan Buri province.
Later that night, the car left the warehouse and returned to the house at Lat Phrao Soi 41. They took a man and a woman out of the car.
The IB learned from Taiwanese officials in Bangkok that Mr Li’s father had filed a report with police in New Taipei after his son phoned the family in Taiwan, asking them to transfer money to him.
Mr Li reportedly told his father that he had been detained and physically assaulted by a gang of Vietnamese men who were threatening to kill him. Immigration police then sought court approval to search the house.
Officers found Ms Suchada and Mr Li in a room inside the house. Nine Vietnamese men were arrested, said Pol Maj Gen Phanthana. A Smith & Wesson revolver, 33 rounds of bullets and two cars were also seized.
During questioning, Ms Suchada said she was Mr Li’s girlfriend. A Thai broker had taken the couple to the house as Mr Li wanted to buy about 1.7 million baht worth of Tether digital currency, known by the trading symbol USDT because it is linked to the US dollar.
The pair met a man later identified as Pham Ngoc and discussed the purchase. The Vietnamese men transferred 50,000 USDT (16.3 million baht) to a digital wallet provided by Mr Li. However, the Taiwanese man did not transfer money in Thai currency to the gang.
Mr Li was an agent for another man identified only as Artong. After receiving the money transfer, Artong could not be contacted, said Pol Maj Gen Phanthana.
This prompted the Vietnamese men to detain Mr Li and Ms Suchada. They beat the Taiwanese man with a metal baton and tied a cord around his neck. They also threatened to use scissors to cut off his fingers. They beat him on the head with a gun and threatened to kill him if he failed to pay back the money, he said.
Immigration police revoked the stay permits for the nine Vietnamese and seized the firearms and the vehicles from them. The suspects were handed over to the Phahon Yothin police station for legal action.
The nine were identified as Pham Van, 40; his deputy Pham Ngoc, 37; Nguyen Xuan, 49; Ngoc Phap, 34; Nguyen Ngoc, 41; Nguyen Thanh, 33; Tran Vu, 41; Ngoc Tu, 35; and Nguyen Hou, 40.