Thai YouTuber wanted for fraud caught posing as local after failing Indonesian national anthem test

Her attempt to pass herself off as an Indonesian local failed when she was unable to sing the national anthem.

After two years of eluding Indonesian authorities, Thai YouTuber Nattamon Hongchak, also known as “Nutty”, has been extradited to Thailand. On October 25, the 31-year-old and her mother Taniya were taken into custody and sent back to Thailand.

According to Bangkok Post, Wissanu Chimtrakul, deputy director general of Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI), made the arrest in response to allegations that Hongchak and her mother were planning a scam that defrauded more than 6,000 people of approximately 2 billion baht (US$59 million) .

Hongchak, who previously gained popularity among more than 800,000 subscribers on YouTube, initially built her platform by posting song-and-dance videos of famous K-pop groups such as Blackpink and BTS. She later attempted to become a K-pop idol in South Korea, debuting briefly under the label Dream Cinema. South China Morning Post.

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In recent years, Hongchak has changed her focus, introducing herself as a seasoned investor and forex trader. She claimed that her family was very rich, with assets including 14 cars and a team of 22 nannies, which she spoke about on a Thai television program. However, her attempt to pass herself off as an Indonesian local failed when she failed to sing the national anthem, which ultimately led to her arrest.

She reportedly tried to apply for an Indonesian passport to travel abroad, but immigration officials noticed her foreign accent and asked her to sing the Indonesian national anthem and read the country’s constitution. When she failed, her true identity was revealed.