Dr Boon heading to Europe, more victims to surface soon: ex-MP

Hospital tycoon Dr Boon Vanasin, whose alleged investment scam has caused billions of baht of damages to hundreds of victims, is allegedly planning to flee to Europe from China, former Bangkok MP Tankhun Jitt-itsara said on Tuesday.

Boon, 86, allegedly used his credentials as the founder of Thonburi Hospital and chairman of the Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG) board to take loans and lure investments worth billions of baht to fund five huge healthcare projects.

Tankhun accompanied two victims of Boon’s scam to give statements to the police. The former Democrat Party MP now serves as chairman of the Santi Pracha Dhamma Club, an NGO dedicated to promoting social justice.

He said that his source revealed that Boon, who fled to China in September, plans to head to Europe, where he will use his strong connections to hide from the authorities.

“I hope the police in Thailand and China, as well as the Interpol, manage to arrest the suspect as soon as possible and bring justice to the victims,” he said.

Tankhun added that he believes more victims will come forward after December 12, which is the deadline for the repayment of Boon’s loans.

He added that some accomplices may also use this chance to announce themselves as victims in a bid to avoid charges. So far, 527 victims have filed complaints claiming total losses of more than 7 billion baht.

The Criminal Court on November 22 issued arrest warrants for Boon and eight others, including his ex-wife Jaruwan Vanasin and daughter Nalin Vanasin.

The former wife and daughter surrendered to police the following day and were denied bail. The other six suspects have already been arrested.