Singaporean had false Thai ID, say police

The card identified the Singaporean as a Thai who is in fact already dead. 

Zhang Yao Zhong, 50, is one of 16 suspects Thai authorities have been trying to hunt down for their alleged role in the illegitimate issuance of Thai ID cards. 

The suspects include an assistant district officer. 

“We are investigating the case further,” Ban Khok Police Station superintendent Colonel Pramuan Yimjan said yesterday. 

The Singaporean told police he had paid Bt200,000 for the card and received it in 2013. 

“Agents approached me saying I could obtain the Thai identification card legally from the Ban Khok District Office in Uttaradit province,” Zhang said. He is married to a Thai woman. 

He was arrested on July 28 while preparing to cross the border into Myanmar. 

Sarawoot Somsri, current assistant district officer of Ban Khok, disclosed yesterday that his district office had found Thai ID cards issued to 11 people who had died in 2013. The discovery prompted it to lodge a complaint with police. 

“Four other suspects certified claims to the Thai identification cards,” he said.