Bail denied for Prayut pic SIM fraud suspect
Police have opposed a bail request from a man who allegedly used the image of the prime minister’s identification card to register SIM cards to be sold to customers.
They also sought the court’s approval for the first round of the man’s 12-day detention.
Peerames Wongthongkua, 31, was taken by Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) officers to the Criminal Court yesterday.
The Chon Buri resident is facing charges of entering false information into a computer system, falsifying official documents and unlawfully accessing a restricted network.
According to police, 55 SIM cards were illegally registered by Mr Peerames.
Police also opposed a bail request lodged by the suspect as the offence carries a severe penalty due to the suspect using a falsified ID card with the name and photo of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to register the SIM cards.
According to officers, the suspect told officers that the photo of the premier made it easier to log into the registration system.
Officers said Mr Peerames is a mobile phone sales representative who works at a shopping mall in Pattaya. The suspect said he obtained the premier’s picture from the internet.
Real Move Co, operator of the TrueMove H mobile network, which alerted police to the scam, said registration of new SIM cards through the “2-snap” ID app is required by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC).
As a result of this incident, the company announced it has submitted a request to the NBTC to urgently inspect the automated 2-snap ID process. It also offered to provide information to fix the shortcoming and improve the security of the SIM registration system.