Wanted Japanese criminal Yasuo Tsubaki (seated) at a news conference at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok on Friday with immigration chief Nathathorn Prousoonthorn and national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)
Living quiet low-profile life in Thailand after plastic surgery, Japanese man avoids arrest for ten years. Finally caught at visa renewal time.
FRAUD, PLASTIC SURGERY & FUGITIVES
Japanese man uses plastic surgery to avoid arrest for 10 years
29/07/2016
Online Reporters
Police arrested a 62-year-old Japanese man a decade after he fled 4-billion-baht stock manipulation charges in Japan and had surgery to change his appearance.
PLASTIC SURGERY TO AVOID ARREST
Famous American actress Lauren Bacall lights the cigarette of actor Humphrey Bogart after he gets plastic surgery to avoid arrest in the 1947 film Dark Passage.
National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda says this is the first arrest by Thai police of a fugitive who used plastic surgery to avoid identification and arrest.
The Japanese man had kept a low-profile in Thailand and used bank accounts and mobile phone numbers registered under the names of Thai people.
The man had rented a condominium room for over 100,000 baht a month on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok before moving to Maha Chai area on Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon province.
WHAT CRIME IS HE WANTED FOR IN JAPAN?
Japanese police wanted the man for allegedly manipulating stock prices in Japan, the police said.
The suspect had been a businessman and lawyer in Japan and his business group had manipulated the share prices of a company during the period 2000-05, causing damage estimated at 12 billion yen (4 billion baht).
FLED TO THAILAND IN 2005
The suspect fled to Thailand in 2005 but has never worked here.
Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said when Mr Tsubaki was seeking a retirement visa, immigration police checked his profile because his face looked different from the passport photo.
The check revealed that there was an arrest warrant from the Japanese police seeking his arrest.
He was arrested at his house in the Rama II area in Samut Sakhon province on Thursday.
Immigration police brought Yasuo Tsubaki to a news briefing at their Bangkok office on Friday.
Mr Tsubaki admitted that he was wanted in his home country, the immigration chief said.
The Thai police said Japan had informed them he might have had plastic surgery to avoid arrest.
His extradition back to Japan is currently underway.