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Published on January 16, 2008

Ngarmnan Thankusol, 31, pleaded guilty to the fraud charge and implicated Methichai Thammakut, her colleague at Melbourne and Osaka Limited Partnership, as another conspirator. Methichai, 55, is still at large.

Policemen from the Children Juveniles and Women Division raided a house in Nong Chok district and found Ngarmnan, a former public heath official based in Sa Kaew, at home.

The officers seized two cars, office equipment and personal computers worth about Bt3 million in total.

Division commander Pol Maj-General Wimol Pao-in said later that Methichai, under his former name of Phawat Khunkhwamsuk, was wanted by Lumphini police for a similar fraud for allegedly preying on a large number of workers who had lost Bt14 million to him.

Acting on complaints by workers, police are still looking for seven other people employed by Melbourne and Osaka Limited Partnership: Jaruphat Sirikuldejphong, Jaksan na Phatthalung, Arjin Sin-in and Lamul Philaraj,

and three men identified merely as Kham, Wirat and Chanont.

Weerawat Jermchalerm, one of the workers, said Ngarmnan had met him at his house in Phayao last year and convinced him to work as a mechanic in Japan.

The company charged him and other workers Bt345,000 per head in travel expenses and other costs.

All the workers, mostly low-income earners, realised they had been duped when they found that the flights to Japan and Korea never existed when they arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport on January 8.

The Nation