Pattaya police in dark over Peter Chong's allegation

The Pattaya police chief has denied any knowledge on an allegation made by Malaysian activist Peter Chong on his abduction by a group of men in Hatyai and forcibily taken to Pattaya.

According to Col Apichai Krobpet, the Pattaya police had never received any police report on the alleged abduction.

"I don''t know about Peter Chong''s case. This is the first time that I have heard of the case and the allegation. I also have not been contacted by the Malaysian Embassy (in Thailand) or the Malaysian police on the case," he told Bernama when contacted today.

Apichai''s denial of having any knowledge of Chong''s allegation comes a day after Hatyai police chief Col Kittichai Sankatavorn made a similar statement, denying his side had received any police report on the alleged abduction.

The Pattaya police chief also noted that if the activist''s allegation was proven to be untrue and baseless, it could cause damage not only to Pattaya''s image as a major tourist destination but also to the country''s tourism industry.

He also echoed his Hatyai counterpart''s warning that Chong could be charged, if what he alleged about being abducted in Hatyai and Pattaya was proven to be groundless and a mere fabrication.

Chong, who is also Subang MP R. Sivarasa''s assistant told the Malaysian police upon his returned from Thailand that he was abducted in Hatyai while meeting a source over the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh who was reportedly taken to Pattaya.

The activist who went missing since April 6, claimed to have been released from captivity in Pattaya and returned to Malaysia last Sunday.

Malaysia''s Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar through his Twitter handle announced Chong''s arrival from Thailand last Sunday.

Several of Pattaya''s police investigators which Bernama managed to contact were surpised when told of Chong''s allegation, saying they had not heard anything on the case.

Meanwhile, a source told Bernama that Chong had called the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok requesting assistance to return to Malaysia.

During the conversation, the source said the activist never mentioned his abduction in Hatyai before being taken to Pattaya, adding the allegation on the abduction had only surfaced when Chong returned to Malaysia last Sunday.

-- BERNAMA