A Thai woman who claimed a Chinese gang stole her blood and attempted to steal her organs in Cambodia has been sentenced to six months in prison with no parole. 25 year old Areeya Komkratok admitted she fabricated the entire story because she urgently wanted to return to Thailand. Areeya, along with seven other Thai people who were lured into working illegally in Cambodia, were rescued and brought back to Thailand earlier this month.
Areeya claimed that she was anaesthetised by a group of Chinese tycoons who drew three bags of her blood and prepared to remove her body parts when she was rescued and taken to a hospital. Areeya created a fake Facebook profile to demand urgent help from Thai officials so she could quickly return to Thailand.
Thailand’s Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, rushed to help eight Thai people thought to be at risk of organ harvesting who were lured into working illegally for a Chinese-operated call centre in Cambodia. Thai police coordinated with Cambodian officials to safely return the eight, including Areeya, to Thailand via the Thailand – Cambodia friendship bridge in Se Kaeo province, eastern Thailand on March 9.