Thirty people on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division accusing a teacher in Bangkok’s Dusit district of fraud in the purchase of their motor vehicles, some of which later surfaced Cambodia.
The accused teacher was identified by police only as Rachayon.
Some of the complainants had bought cars, pickups or motorcycles on hire-purchase, were unable to meet the payments and offered them for sale. Others were just trying to sell a vehicle they owned.
The buyers were expected to make a down payment and either take over the higher purchase instalments, or pay instalments directly to the seller. Ownership would be transferred when the vehicles were paid off.
Mr Rachayon had taken up their offers to sell, agreeing to buy their vehicles. They handed them over after receiving the agreed initial down payments.
They alleged that Mr Rachayon paid a few instalments and then they heard no more from him, leaving them out of pocket. Those with hire purchase contracts were also still legally responsible for the payments, even though they no longer had the vehicles.
One complainant, Tantikorn Pomsuwan, 40, said that in September 2020 he offerd his Ford pickup for sale on Facebook. It was still under hire purchase, but he did not have the money to pay.
Mr Rachayon gave him a 100,000 baht down payment and agreed to take over the instalments. But after four or five payments he could no longer be contacted.
Mr Tantikorn said he went to the school where Mr Rachayon teaches many times, the last time on Oct 16, but was told that he had not turned up for work for many days.
He alleged that as many as 50 other people had, like him, been duped by Mr Rachayon and that the total damage was to the tune of 50 million baht.
Mr Tantikorn said he contacted other victims and formed the group of 30 people who filed a complaint with the CSD.
He said some of the victims had traced their vehicles by the installed GPS, and found they were in Cambodia.
The CSD accepted the complaint for investigation.
bkk
