Police storm a house near Pattaya after a captive woman’s secret WeChat plea. Three Chinese women are rescued, one chained inside a wardrobe, as four Chinese men face rape, detention and extortion charges, plus a widening immigration investigation now.
A desperate secret WeChat message triggered a midnight police raid near Pattaya, freeing three Chinese women and leading to four arrests. One woman was found chained inside a wardrobe. The women told police they were lured with offers of entertainment work, then confined, sexually assaulted and used to extort money from relatives. More than 20 officers stormed the Bang Lamung house after one captive secretly sent her location and warned her relative not to reply. Police seized condoms, suspected drug equipment and phones containing obscene photographs. The four Chinese suspects now face rape, detention, coercion and extortion charges. Meanwhile, immigration officers are investigating how three suspects without passports entered Thailand and tracing possible associates.
Four Chinese men face rape, detention and extortion charges after police rescued three Chinese women from a house near Pattaya. One woman was found inside a wardrobe, restrained with a long iron chain. The women told police they were lured there with offers of entertainment work. Instead, they said they were confined, sexually assaulted and used in attempts to extract money from relatives.
The rescue came after one woman secretly fired off a desperate WeChat message late Tuesday. She told a relative she was in danger and sent the location. Crucially, she warned the relative not to reply because the men controlled her telephone. She also demanded a large police response. Within hours, more than 20 officers were moving on the two-storey property.
Police identified the arrested men as Haiyang Liu, 31, and Lan Liang Feng, 28. The other suspects are Xiao Jia Bin, 25, and Deng Shunzhi, 22.
Four Chinese men face rape, detention, coercion and extortion charges after three women are rescued
Meanwhile, the rescued women were identified as Lina Lu, 32, Yifan Xing, 24, and Luojin Liu, 21. All seven people involved are Chinese nationals.
By Wednesday afternoon, the four men faced a formidable list of criminal accusations. Police confirmed charges involving joint rape through force or threats, unlawful detention, coercion and extortion. Separately, investigators opened immigration inquiries after three suspects failed to produce passports. Deng was the only one carrying a passport.
The case began between 10 pm and 11 pm on Tuesday, when one woman managed to access WeChat. She contacted a relative outside the house and warned that she was in danger. However, she specifically ordered the relative not to answer her message. Police said the men had control of her telephone.
Instead, the woman quietly transmitted the location of the house. At the same time, she urged her relative to send numerous police officers. The relative immediately passed the information to police. In response, officers decided against sending a small patrol into the property.
More than 20 personnel were rapidly assembled for the operation. They included Chon Buri Immigration officers and investigators from Bang Lamung Police Station. Tourist Police also joined the raid, alongside local district officials. Soon afterwards, the combined force headed towards the location supplied through WeChat.
More than 20 officers storm Bang Lamung house after secret WeChat plea reveals the women’s location
Police traced the women to Tambon Takhian Tia in Bang Lamung district. The two-storey property stood around the Rong Po–Motorway area, north of central Pattaya. Shortly after midnight, officers began surrounding the house. By about 12.30 am, the rescue operation was underway.
Initially, police sealed off the property to prevent anyone escaping. Then, some officers climbed over the perimeter fence and entered the compound. They immediately encountered a Chinese man sitting on a sofa. Elsewhere, other members of the team began moving through the house, searching for the women.
Suddenly, officers heard women calling for help from inside. Police located two women and brought them under their protection. Yet investigators knew another woman remained somewhere inside the property. Consequently, officers continued checking rooms, cupboards and other enclosed areas.
The continuing search led them to a wardrobe. Inside, police discovered the third Chinese woman. Investigators said she had been restrained with a long iron chain. Officers freed her and seized the chain as evidence. At that point, police also moved against the four Chinese men inside the property.
Police find third Chinese woman chained inside wardrobe as search of Pattaya-area house intensifies
Some suspects attempted to evade the officers, according to investigators. Nevertheless, police took all four into custody. The women were secured while another phase of the operation began. Officers then started searching the house for evidence linked to their accounts.
What they found widened the investigation immediately. Police recovered boxes of condoms and the long chain used to restrain a woman. Additionally, officers discovered drug paraphernalia associated with crystal methamphetamine consumption. Ketamine vaping devices were also recovered from inside the property.
On another front, investigators seized mobile telephones belonging to the suspects. Police said obscene photographs of the women were found on one suspect’s device. The phones were taken for detailed examination. Investigators are now studying their communications, photographs and other stored material.
Meanwhile, Lina Lu, Yifan Xing and Luojin Liu began giving statements about events inside the house. The women said they had originally been offered paid entertainment work. However, those promises changed once they reached the Bang Lamung property.
Phones, condoms, drug equipment and obscene photographs widen police investigation after four arrests
According to their accounts, the women were instead confined inside the house. They also told investigators they were sexually assaulted while being held. Furthermore, police said the operation included attempts to obtain money from their relatives. Investigators consequently began tracing communications linked to those demands.
The women’s statements quickly pushed the case far beyond an immigration raid. By Wednesday afternoon, police had confirmed four major categories of criminal charges. First came accusations involving coercion through violence or threats. The suspects also face charges over the women’s unlawful confinement.
More seriously, investigators brought joint rape charges involving force or threats. In addition, all four men face accusations connected with extortion. Police subsequently transferred the suspects to Bang Lamung Police Station. There, investigators continued questioning and began formal legal proceedings.
Pol Col Napatphong Sositsuriyamanee, superintendent of Chon Buri Immigration, later detailed the extraordinary overnight rescue. He confirmed that the alarm originated from the woman’s secret WeChat communication. Moreover, he confirmed that more than 20 officers participated in the operation.
Women say entertainment job offers led to confinement, sexual assault and demands for family money
As part of this, investigators began reconstructing the hours before police reached the house. The first alert arrived between 10 pm and 11 pm Tuesday. By around 12.30 am, officers had reached the property. Soon afterwards, all three women had been found and four suspects were under arrest.
The warning not to answer the WeChat message became particularly important. A reply could have exposed the woman’s attempt to summon help. Instead, the relative followed her instructions and contacted police directly. That allowed officers to prepare before approaching the house.
In parallel, Chon Buri Immigration Police launched another investigation into the suspects’ immigration histories. Three of the arrested men could not produce passports. Deng Shunzhi, however, had one. Investigators are therefore establishing how the other men entered and remained in Thailand.
Initial police information indicates some suspects entered through unofficial natural border routes. Reports have identified Tak and Sa Kaeo provinces in connection with their journeys. Consequently, immigration investigators are now reconstructing their movements after entering the country.
Secret WeChat warning allowed police to prepare raid while immigration inquiry targets three suspects
Beyond that, officers are checking how long the men stayed in Thailand. Police are also examining their activities before reaching Bang Lamung. Any assistance they received after entering the country is another part of the expanding inquiry.
Attention has also turned to the two-storey house itself. Investigators want to establish how the group obtained the property. They are checking how long the suspects had been using it. Additionally, police are examining whether other Chinese nationals previously visited or stayed there.
At the same time, investigators are looking for possible associates of the four men. The arrests have therefore not ended the wider inquiry. Chon Buri Immigration Police are expanding their investigation beyond the suspects already in custody.
Physical evidence recovered from the house has also become central to the case. Notably, investigators seized the iron chain found during the rescue. Police believe it was used to restrain at least one of the women. The item has been retained as evidence.
Elsewhere inside the property, officers found condoms and suspected drug equipment. Police reported paraphernalia associated with crystal methamphetamine consumption. They also seized ketamine vaping devices. Investigators are examining those items alongside the electronic evidence recovered during the raid.
Police trace suspects’ movements, associates and use of Bang Lamung house as wider inquiry expands
The seized telephones could provide another detailed record of events inside the house. Investigators are examining messages, photographs and stored communications. In particular, police are studying the obscene photographs found on one suspect’s telephone. They want to establish when and how those images were produced.
For their part, the women have supplied investigators with accounts covering their arrival and confinement. Their statements describe offers of entertainment work before they reached the house. After arriving, they said they were prevented from leaving.
They also described sexual assaults while they were held. Moreover, investigators were told their relatives became targets for demands for money. Police are now tracing communications connected with those claims. They are also establishing whether money changed hands before the raid.
As inquiries widened, officers began examining communications between the suspects and other people. Investigators are seeking contacts who may have known about activities inside the property. They are also looking for evidence showing how the three women were brought there.
The operation itself moved at speed once the WeChat plea reached the relative. Within several hours, police had assembled a multi-agency force. Officers had also identified the location and surrounded the house. Soon afterwards, they were inside searching for the women.
Seized phones may reveal how women were confined, assaulted and targeted in demands for family money
By early Wednesday, all three women were safely outside the property. Police had also arrested Haiyang Liu, Lan Liang Feng, Xiao Jia Bin and Deng Shunzhi. Evidence was being removed from the house as officers began building the criminal case.
Later, investigators formally confirmed the accusations arising from the women’s statements and the initial evidence. The joint rape charges are among the most serious. However, police are simultaneously pursuing unlawful detention, coercion and extortion allegations.
In another strand, immigration investigators are tracing the movements of the suspects without passports. Their routes into Thailand remain under examination. Officers are also checking whether anyone helped them enter or remain in the country.
The inquiry could extend beyond the four men already arrested. Investigators are seeking other people linked to the suspects or the Bang Lamung house. Police are also examining whether the property had previously been used for related activities.
For now, Bang Lamung Police Station is handling the principal criminal investigation. Chon Buri Immigration Police are pursuing the immigration and cross-border elements. Evidence from both inquiries will be combined as the case develops.
Four suspects remain in custody as police pursue rape, detention, coercion and extortion allegations
Police have the statements of Lina Lu, Yifan Xing and Luojin Liu. They also have the chain, suspected drug equipment, condoms and electronic devices recovered from the property. Furthermore, investigators have photographs and communications seized from the suspects’ phones.
From one secret WeChat message, the case became a major overnight police operation. Within hours, three Chinese women were out of the house. Four Chinese men were under arrest. By Wednesday afternoon, police had confirmed rape, detention, coercion and extortion charges.
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Haiyang Liu, Lan Liang Feng, Xiao Jia Bin and Deng Shunzhi remained in police custody as inquiries continued. Meanwhile, investigators are examining their movements, immigration histories and possible associates. Bang Lamung police are continuing the criminal case using evidence seized during Wednesday’s raid.
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