Two People’s Party MPs face defamation lawsuits after raising questions about an alleged scam network based in the Sino-Thai Tower in central Bangkok. The charge was filed against them by the building’s owner, Sino-Thai Engineering.

Sino-Thai Engineering filed a defamation lawsuit against MPs Rukchanok Srinok and Suphanat Minchaiynunt of the opposition People’s Party after they raised questions about a company alleged to be connected to Cambodian scam networks which is based in the Sino-Thai Tower, according to Thai news outlets.

According to the Sino-Thai statement, the issue has generated widespread comment and damaged the company’s reputation due to partial and incorrect information. The company also asserted that it has no direct or indirect involvement with Prince International, as the company renting space in the Sino-Thai Tower, or with any illegal networks or activities, prompting it to pursue legal action against the two MPs to protect its reputation.

The issue first came under the spotlight on 16 October when BBC Thai and Thai PBS found a Thai-registered company’s website using the same logo as Prince Holding Group. The company claimed to have invested in multiple real estate projects in Thailand.

Prince Holding Group or Prince Group has been linked to Chinese -born Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who has been sanctioned and had his assets frozen by the US and UK after he was charged with money laundering and running online scam operations that are suspected of using trafficked workers to defraud people around the world.

Prince International later denied any involvement with Prince Holding Group or with any illegal activities.

The lawsuit cites a Facebook post on 17 October by Suphanat, in which he merely questions whether it was coincidence or oversight or personal connection to the building owner that resulted in Prince International basing itself in the Sino-Thai Tower. He also suggested the building owner terminate the lease contract to protect its own reputation. Rukchanok also commented on the post, asking “Where is the Prime Minister?”

According to the Commerce Ministry’s database, Prince International is registered at the Sino-Thai Tower, which is owned by Sino-Thai Engineering. Prince International operates a real estate business and was registered in September 2022. The Thailand-registered company is a small business with a registered capital of two million baht and earnings only 800,000 in 2024.

According to BBC Thai, in November 2024, the Prince International website claimed to be Prince Real Estate (Cambodia) Group, a subsidiary of Prince Holding Group. It stated that the company was established in 2015 to operate in the real estate sector. The information also corresponded to a Prince Group subsidiary linked to Chen Zhi. Initially, the website did not provide any contact address in Thailand, showing only its office in Phnom Penh.

The website’s historical records show that in April 2025, the information on the website was updated to Prince International. Its address was listed as the Sino-Thai Tower, and the contact number and email matched those on the website of Prince Real Estate Investment, which is believed to be part of Chen Zhi’s Prince Group.

Since the story emerged, the websites of Prince International, Taiwan Prince Real Estate Investment, and PHIN Group are no longer accessible, leaving only Prince Group’s Cambodia-based website active.

At the same time, information linking Prince International to Prince Group was also removed from the website.