THAILAND (TR) – Police in Bangkok have arrested a man who has repeatedly posed as a woman in distress to defraud male Japanese tourists, reports TBS News (Feb. 4).
According to police, the man, a 43-year-old Thai national, posed as a female tourist by dressing in women’s clothing and approached Japanese visitors in shopping districts. “Since I have lost my wallet and passport, please lend me money,” he told them.
Between November of last year and January, the suspect allegedly swindled 10 Japanese tourists out of a total of 930,000 yen in cash. In some cases, the suspect escorted the victims to an ATM machine, police said.
“Since Japanese women want to spend money, I targeted Japanese men,” the suspect told police.
The arrest is the sixth for the suspect. Over the past 10 years, he is believed to have used the same ruse to swindle about 100 Japanese tourists out of around 35 million yen.
