Three Chinese women were rescued from a villa in Pattaya, Thailand, after being held captive and sexually assaulted by four Chinese men, according to Thai media reports.
Chonburi immigration police received an emergency report at 11pm on Tuesday from a person who said they had received a distress message from a Chinese female friend in danger. The victim said her phone was not with her and pleaded with police to send a large number of officers, sharing the precise location of the villa.
A special task force of more than 20 officers from Chonburi immigration, Bang Lamung police and tourist police surrounded the villa at around 12.30am on Wednesday. Officers climbed over the wall and entered the property, detaining a man in the living room on the ground floor and finding two women in a nearby room. They then went upstairs and arrested three more men, discovering a third woman in a bedroom wearing pyjamas, covered in injuries and visibly terrified.
Police seized a long iron chain allegedly used to restrain the victims, condoms, methamphetamine paraphernalia and K-pod vape capsules. The three rescued women, aged 36, 32 and 23, told investigators they had been recruited for a "high-paying companion" job but were imprisoned and assaulted after arriving at the villa. The suspects allegedly demanded large ransoms from their relatives in China.
The four arrested men could not produce passports and are believed to have entered Thailand illegally. Police found photos of the victims on one suspect's phone. The men face charges including illegal entry, illegal detention, gang rape and extortion.
