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Published on November 3, 2007

A grenade was hurled into the office of Ruamtun Kapleek Co Ltd in Wiang Bua Plaza but did not go off and was safely disposed of.

The previous day more than 200 people lodged a complaint with Chang Phuak Police Station that the company had swindled them out of several million baht through a pyramid fund.

The company had attracted investors from as far as Phuket, where more than 50 people sought to sue chairman Rachata Chawala-akanit.

"More than 500 people in Phuket have invested more than Bt30 million in this company," victim Kittipong Soythong said at Phuket Police Station. He said the company had paid returns on time through the first two months of their investment, but then defaulted.

"The problem started around early August, and I flew to Chiang Mai to meet the chairman, who failed to give an explanation," he said. He tried to follow up on the payment again last month and could not reach Rachata.

"By then, I knew something had gone wrong and talked to other investors about legal steps," he said.

In a similar case, Second Lieutenant Tipawan Duangjankote, 38, reported to Phuket Police that Methawee Panprasert had taken Bt150,000 from her and vanished. Methawee ran a shop in front of a local college when she allegedly approached Tipawan and offered her 20-per-cent interest. After Tipawan handed Methawee the funds on September 19, Tipawan could not contact her.

 The Nation