Hospital tycoon must be sued, Department of Special Investigation says

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has submitted case files and its opinion to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), recommending that hospital tycoon Dr Boon Vanasin and 15 others be sued for public fraud.

The high-profile case, which came to light in November last year, has 605 victims and damages amounting to over 14.2 billion baht.

DSI chief Police Major Yutthana Praedam said on Monday that the office suggested that the attorney file charges of violating the 1984 Emergency Decree on Borrowings Which Are Regarded as Public Cheating and Fraud against 16 suspects, 13 of whom have now been arrested.

Boon, who is still at large, allegedly used his credentials as the founder of Thonburi Hospital and chairman of the Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG) board to take out loans and obtain investments worth billions of baht to fund five huge healthcare projects.

Yutthana said the DSI included in the case files, which span more than 130,000 pages, the names and statements of 605 victims claiming total damages of 14,246,048,033 baht due to investment scams.

Police believe the well-known doctor fled to China in September last year, and could now be hiding in Europe, where he is known to have connections.