A 29-year-old man who picked up gay foreigners on dating apps and slept with them in hotel rooms has been charged with stealing from his "lovers".
Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang on Friday announced the arrest of Sirawit on a warrant issued by the Bangkok South Criminal Court. He did not give a surname for the suspect.
He said police had received complaints from several foreigners that a Thai man using a pseudonym had approached them via dating chat apps for gays, such as Grindr, Blued, Romeo, Aloha and Homet. The man slept with them in hotel rooms, then stole from them.
Investigators learned that the suspect stayed at a condominium room in Chong Nonsi area. He was arrested, and about 10 bank account books and cash cards were seized from his room.
During questioning, Sirawit admitted preying on wealthy foreign men. He approached them using a pseudonym. After persuading them to sleep with him in hotel rooms, he tricked them into revealing the passwords for the internet banking apps they used.
He then used them to transfer money into his own bank accounts.
He also drugged some of his victims and stole their cash and other valuables.
He admitted to police he had been doing it for more than a year.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said the man had stolen from at least 10 foreign men, making off with more than one million baht.
The suspect was held in police custody for legal action.