Gang blackmails drivers with bumper cars
The fairly innocent fairground fun with bumper cars has been imitated in the Isaan, the Northeast of Thailand. Not at the fair, but on the highway. And not as entertainment, but as an extortion method. A gang has been dealing with it for the past three years.
In the provinces of Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham, Nong Khai and Roi Et in particular, they took to the road in rented pickup trucks or passenger cars and deliberately collided with other cars.
They mainly targeted female drivers, the elderly and drivers of presumably uninsured cars. After the collision, two gang members 'talked' the victim to waive an insurance claim and come up with money.
Yesterday, the Khon Kaen Provincial Police arrested the gang leader (37). During his interrogation he said that the gang consists of 43 people and that 23 cars were used.
The gang forced clashes three to five times a day, earning amounts ranging from 5.000 to 20.000 baht each time. The gang leader said he earns 100.000 baht a month. He claimed fifty collisions in the past three years.
The police acted after reports of more than XNUMX incidents in which victims said they had been robbed and extorted. In Chang Han (Khon Kaen) district, the gang was widely known. There was a warning on social media that in one particular village the entire male population earned their living in this way.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Sept. 4, 2014)