Metha Charingsuk, 42, the owner of Japanese buffet restaurant Daruma Sushi, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding people and inputting false information into a computer system.
Immigration police nabbed Metha, who is also known as “Ballnie”, after he had returned from abroad. He was taken to the Consumer Protection Police Division in Chatuchak district for further investigation.
His arrest came after thousands of customers, employees and franchisees filed complaints with the police, claiming that they couldn’t use the coupons which they had paid for at Daruma Sushi outlets after Metha abruptly closed all 27 branches nationwide.
Metha’s move to shut the doors on all his buffet restaurants caused damage worth more than 100 million baht, especially to customers who were unable to use salmon buffet coupons worth 199 baht a piece, which were sold online.
Earlier, Central Investigation Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Jiraphop Phuridej said Metha had fled from Thailand to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on June 16.
Metha was seen as a popular new generation businessman as he was able to quickly expand his first sushi restaurant in Bangkok’s Soi Udomsuk 50 in 2019 despite the Covid-19 crisis. – The Nation
