PATTAYA – March 15, 2014 [PDN]; at 8.00 a.m. Pol.Lt.Col. Ratthaphong Tia-sood (Deputy Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration Bureau) was notified from a Mrs. Phattharawadee Homkhajornthanajorn, aged 54, that she had detained a foreign man who rented a from her company called “Jeh Da Car Rent” but didn’t return it. The rental company is located in Soi Chalerm Phra Kiet 23 (beside old Excite), Pattaya third road, central Pattaya, so he commanded Pol.Sub.Lt. Prasert Chaiwong (Deputy Inspector) to rush to the scene together with the police team.
At the incident Mrs. Phattharawadee pointed out Mr. Heidar Alirezaei, aged 56, Iranian nationality, and passport no. K21878538, who rented a car but never, returned it. The police searched in his body and found a fake passport with his photograph but had a different name Mr. Damarco Celso Alfonso, aged 50, Italian nationality, passport no. AA2206519. He was also carrying a fake International Driving Permit (IDP), many cards from various car rental tents in Pattaya city and Bangkok and some other documents so the officers seized all of them for evidence.
Upon questioning Mrs. Phattharawadee (the victim)she said that on March 11, 2014 Mr. Heidar (the defendant) came to her car rental tent and rented a 4-door-Toyota Vigo car, license no. 1 Kor Nor-5433 Bangkok for 1 week at a price of 10,000 THB so he gave her a copy his passport with the name of Mr. Damarco Celso Alfonso, Italian nationality. Also he talked to her and befriended her and claimed that he was Italian and it was his first time in Thailand.
Later on March 13, 2014 she checked the GPS signal and found that the car was being driven across Khong river to Lao PDR on the border of Nakhon Phanom Province which it seemed suspicious so she distributed the photograph of Mr. Heidar to her friends who have car rental companies to keep an eye out for him. Soon she received a phone call from a Mr. Aran Singsakda, aged 66, who owns a car rental tent named “Super Star Car Rent” which is located close to her tent that Mr. Heidar had come to rent a Toyota Fortuner car from him so she rushed to see him but when the Iranian man saw her he tried to run away but Mr. Aran’s employees chased after him and caught him. Then Mrs. Phattharawadee then notified the police.
Upon questioning Mr. Heidar he denied that he stole the car because it still has not reached the due date as in the agreement so he has not returned it yet but after he was investigated further by police he confessed that he had already sold the rented car to a Laotian man for 150,000 THB and the fake passport which showed him as Italian nationality was made by a friend in Lao PDR for 30,000 THB. Once the car was sold he would come back to Pattaya and rent another car and sell it again in Loa. He also said that he didn’t think that people would remember his face.
However the police charged Mr. Heidar Alirezaei with the allegations of counterfeiting a fake passport and being an alien that had over stayed in the kingdom of Thailand. Also the police checked his passports to see if had been reported missing or stolen in Thailand. He was then taken to the police station to be questioned further before being prosecuted according to the Thai law.
