NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A man pretending to be a close aide of the national police chief has been arrested for offering to help police officers gain promotion in return for a 300,000-baht fee, Provincial Police Region 3 commissioner Pol Lt Gen Somprasong Yenthuan said yesterday.
Police armed with a warrant issued last Wednesday by the Chiang Mai Provincial Court arrested Kanpol Kongmongkol, 54, in a rented room on Thewarit Road in tambon Chuang Phueak in Muang district of Chiang Mai on Friday.
During questioning, Mr Kanpol allegedly confessed to falsely claiming he was Pol Col Pornchai Chalordet, deputy chief of Metropolitan Police Sub-division 9. Pol Col Pornchai is currently the Nong Khai police superintendent.
He used the name Pol Col Pornchai to register with the Line app and sent a message to 14 police officers in line for promotion to deputy chief inspector in all nine police regions, saying he could help them.
In the message, he told them to call a close aide of national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas using the supplied number. On receiving the calls, he claimed to be Pol Col Pornchai.
He told each of them to send him 300,000 baht, and their details and police service records, online.
None of the officers who received Mr Kanpol’s message believed him and all filed complaints which led to Mr Kanpol’s arrest in Chiang Mai.