BANGKOK - A former Singapore embassy staff was on Friday (May 8) sentenced to 114 months in jail by a Thai court after being convicted of 38 counts of forgery.
David Han, 26, was found with forged employment documents, salary slips, and certificates from universities in both Thailand and abroad after he was arrested by Thai police on Tuesday (May 5) in the northern province of Chiang Rai.
Don Mueang Kwaeng Court on Friday also fined him 190,000 baht (S$8,333) and suspended his jail sentence.
As of Friday evening, he was detained at Bangkok's immigration detention centre awaiting deportation. He will be blacklisted from entering Thailand.
Thai police say Han had submitted a forged letter from the Singapore defence attache, among other documents.
"We are still investigating whether he worked with other people even though he confessed to doing it alone," Police Major-General Piti Nitinonthaset, a superintendent of Immigration Bureau Division 1, told The Straits Times before Han was convicted.
"We found many suspicious elements, like a visa sticker that might be made in his country. We are now working with the Singapore police to find out more," added Maj-Gen Piti.
The Immigration Bureau said Han worked at the defence attache's office at the Singapore embassy in Bangkok from 2013 to 2014.
Between 2015 and this year, he applied to extend his 90-day visa 19 times, and also opened a bank account and applied for credit cards.
"The documents he presented to the officials were mixed with genuine ones, and that made it difficult to spot the fakes," said Maj-Gen Piti.
Han was arrested on Tuesday at a hotel in Chiang Rai, where local police said his girlfriend was studying.
Thai media reported that he had amassed 700,000 baht in credit card debt.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Singapore's foreign ministry said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the incident and is rendering consular assistance to the Singaporean.
"The case is being dealt with in accordance with the local laws of Thailand."
