The "runaway bride" accused of cheating almost a dozen men out of 3 million baht in dowries through sham marriages was arrested on Thursday in Samut Sakhon and allegedly confessed to her crimes, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
Jariyaporn Buayai, 32, was apprehended at a market in tambon Omnoi of Krathum Baen district.
She was known to have frequented the area with her current husband, 33-year-old Kittisak Tantiwatkul, who is wanted for theft and faces an arrest warrant issued by Thanyaburi Court.
CIB commissioner Thitiraj Nhongharnpitak said he was directing the investigation himself as the case has attracted considerable public attention.
He said 11 men have filed charges against the woman for allegedly duping them into paying her dowries before making off with the money.
The police held a press conference to announce Ms Jariyaporn's arrest at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) yesterday. The CSD police are in charge of collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and victims.
The fraud charges faced by Ms Jariyaporn present a legal basis for the authorities to seize her assets under the money-laundering law, he added.
The CIB chief said the police will also question Ms Jariyaporn's parents to see if they colluded with her in the alleged dowry scam.
The suspects' parents reportedly attended Ms Jariyaporn's wedding ceremonies. In most cases the suspect is believed to have fled before the marriage could be properly registered.
Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj said investigators have decided not to press charges against a woman named Soypet Paliwan to whose bank account the dowries were remitted. She also hails from Loei, where Ms Jariyaporn has been residing.
Ms Soypet told the police Ms Jariyaporn opened an account in her name without her knowledge or consent. She said the suspect took her citizenship ID card and used it to register the account.
Ms Jariyaporn told police she wed seven of the 11 men while the rest willingly gave her money to co-invest in her fruit business.
She claimed she had dated all seven before agreeing to marry them and said she harboured no intention of swindling them out of their money.
One of the alleged victims, Pairat Puengsuk, 28, of Phetchabun, accused Ms Jariyaporn of stealing his pickup truck and duping him into giving her 180,000 baht in cash.
Mr Pairat said Ms Jariyaporn had told him she planned to build a life with him. He vowed to go to any length to see her prosecuted.