A 40-year-old man, Chalermwut (surname withheld), was arrested at a Pattaya condominium on charges of extortion and uploading explicit content to the internet. The arrest on July 6 was carried out by officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) following an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on June 19.
The arrest followed a complaint lodged by Pierre (pseudonym), a French national and former partner of the accused. According to the complaint, Chalermwut allegedly threatened to release intimate videos of the two of them on social media unless Pierre paid him money. Despite the threats, Pierre refused to comply, leading Chalermwut to post the explicit videos on multiple platforms. This coercion led Pierre to transfer 900 euros to the accused before reporting the crime to the authorities, which resulted in the arrest warrant.
During the investigation, Chalermwut confessed to the charges. He recounted how he had met and dated Pierre, but their relationship soured after he was assaulted and evicted from their shared accommodation in Vietnam. Upon returning to Thailand, he claimed that Pierre ceased all contact and financial support, which fueled his anger and prompted his extortion attempts. Chalermwut was handed over to the investigators at Division 3 of the TCSD for further legal proceedings.
