Wanted man eludes Thai cops via loophole

Thai police have placed a Japanese man on an international wanted list on suspicion of fraud for allegedly not paying expenses and wages to people who bought brand-name items in Thailand for his firm in 2006.

However, because Tokyo and Bangkok do not have an extradition treaty, the Japanese police are unable to detain the suspect, even though they have located him in Japan.

The victims are outraged by the loophole, their lawyers said.

According to the Thai police and lawyers, the suspect solicited buyers via newspaper ads under the name of his company, Flashy Colors, that said they could earn money just by purchasing goods in Thailand.

He went to Thailand with Japanese buyers and took possession of the items they bought, such as luxury watches, but never paid for them, they said. He allegedly owes about ¥60 million for the items and other expenses.

The Thai police obtained an arrest warrant for the man and placed him on an international wanted list through Interpol in September while exchanging information with Japanese police.

"It seems as if he's protected by the Japanese police even though he's on the international wanted list," one of the fraud victims said.

"Generally, we can't hand over custody of Japanese nationals (to Thai authorities) even if they ask us to detain the suspect, since the two countries have not struck a treaty to extradite crime suspects," National Police Agency officials said.

According to a lawyer, other victims of the alleged fraud have filed a group lawsuit seeking reimbursement after the suspect's company reportedly sent about 100 people to Macau to purchase luxury items in 2007 but failed to pay them some ¥500 million.