Tycoon Claims Inhumane Treatment in Thai Prison Amid Extradition Battle
She Zhijiang, a Chinese-born gambling tycoon with Cambodian citizenship, has reportedly endured “inhumane treatment” while detained in a Thai prison, according to a letter sent by his lawyers to Interpol. The lawyers claim She has been subjected to violence, solitary confinement, and denied medical care, leaving him unable to walk or stand without a wheelchair. They further allege unwanted visits from Chinese officials, which they interpret as coercive attempts to force his extradition.
She was arrested in Bangkok in 2022 under an international warrant and an Interpol red notice issued by Beijing, accusing him of operating illegal online gambling networks across Southeast Asia. In a letter dated January 9, She’s lawyers described the treatment he has received as “human rights violations of an institutional nature,” expressing concerns for his life and urging Interpol to revoke the red notice.
Allegations of Abuse and Political Pressure
The lawyers, Clara Gerard-Rodriguez and Pierre-Olivier Sur, claim that She’s detention is politically motivated, stemming from his refusal to comply with Chinese authorities’ orders to develop a controversial border town project between Thailand and Myanmar. “They wanted a colony. I wanted to do business,” She told Al Jazeera in a documentary aired on September 26. Shortly after the documentary’s release, She was transferred to a maximum-security prison housing inmates serving long sentences or on death row.
In October, the lawyers said She was “brutally tackled” by officers and inmates, leaving him severely injured. Chinese embassy officials have reportedly visited him twice in December without his consent, allegedly pressuring him to return to China. During one visit, they suggested his family and friends might need embassy assistance, which She interpreted as a veiled threat.
A Gambling Empire in Controversy
At the time of his arrest, She led a gambling empire that developed the $15-billion Shew Kokko casino and entertainment complex along the Myanmar-Thai border. His company, Yatai International Holdings Group, has denied involvement in criminal activities, including human trafficking. She, however, claims he was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to serve as an informant, a claim he says led to his current predicament.
Chinese authorities, Thailand’s Department of Corrections, and Interpol have declined to comment on the allegations. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims made by She’s legal team.
This case comes amid heightened scrutiny by Chinese authorities on gambling and scam operations in Southeast Asia, which have been linked to human trafficking and fraud by criminal syndicates with Chinese origins. As She fights extradition, his legal team argues that the alleged violations by China undermine international judicial cooperation and should prevent his return.
credit bangkok post
