PATTAYA, Thailand – On September 6, a man filed a police report at the Dongtan sub-branch of Pattaya Police Station after realizing he had been scammed by a condominium salesperson in Jomtien. Pongnattana W, 33, accused the salesperson of forging his signature to cancel a purchase contract and withholding his down payment of over 1,002,500 baht.
Pongnattana had initially bought three condo units within the same project several years ago and had already paid substantial down payments. However, the project remained incomplete. The salesperson later proposed a new project, but Pongnattana declined and requested a refund. Instead, the salesperson suggested that he sell his down payments.
In one case, after placing a 500,000 baht down payment, Pongnattana agreed to cancel the contract, receiving only 198,000 baht out of the promised 250,000 baht. Another unit, for which he had paid 700,000 baht, remained unresolved. The most severe case involved the third unit, where Pongnattana had placed a down payment of 1 million baht. He later found out that his contract had been fraudulently cancelled, and the condo was sold without his knowledge, with the proceeds never returned. The property rights had been transferred to a new owner, who was issued the title deed.
When Pongnattana confronted the condo’s sales staff, a heated argument ensued, which was caught on video. He refused to settle and vowed to pursue legal action, suspecting that other victims may also be involved.
Ms. Kae (pseudonym), a former employee of the company, spoke to reporters, revealing that her supervisor had orchestrated the forgery. She claimed that sales agents handled all documents related to down payments, making it difficult to track the number of affected individuals. Ms. Kae admitted she had warned her supervisor about misleading customers.
However, the supervisor assured her that partial payments had been made, which Ms. Kae later discovered to be minimal. Under pressure from the company, which had withheld her salary and commission, she shared this information with Pongnattana out of guilt and fear, noting that the financial transactions could still be traced.
When the news team visited the condominium’s office in Jomtien, it was found closed, and phone inquiries were met with a brief response: “Not available to talk.” The call was abruptly disconnected. Pongnattana has pledged to continue his legal battle.
