Police raid wealthy Chinese expat's house where two pet LIONS were being kept

Police raided the house of a wealthy Chinese couple who were keeping two lions as pets in Thailand.

Authorities swept through the upmarket two-storey home and found two male lions being kept in a zoo-like enclosure in the house at the Siam Royal View housing estate in Chonburi province on July 5.

They also discovered and impounded three luxury vehicles, including a red Ferrari and a white Rolls-Royce, believed to be worth tens of millions of baht.

Police Major General Theerachai Chamnanmor, commander of the Investigation Division Provincial Police Region 2, said the raid was conducted following reports from local residents that foreigners were allegedly storing illegal items at the house.

He said: 'The Pattaya Provincial Court issued a search warrant on July 4. The search found two male lions in the house. Therefore, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation was also contacted for a joint inspection.

'Lions are controlled wild animals that require a permit to own. The homeowner could not present their permit, and did not have any documents to show where the two lions came from or whether they were legally obtained.

'The officers will first impound the two lions for inspection. The luxury cars found will also be impounded to verify whether they were legally imported and whether taxes were paid according to the law.'

The Chinese couple, Sun Yuhan, 35, and her husband, who was not named in reports, were taken to the Nongprue Police Station for questioning.

They were initially found to have violated Section 19, Paragraph 1 of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act 2019, for allegedly possessing wildlife without authorization.

The offense carries a penalty of imprisonment not exceeding one year, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.

Meanwhile, Sun Yuhan's lawyer, Aniruj Khongsap, presented ownership documents for the Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and the pair of lions, on July 5.

According to the documents, the previous owner of the house had allegedly returned to China and left the lions with the Thai housekeepers, who have been caring for them since they were cubs.

Sun, the current owner of the house, had reportedly hired both caretakers and decided to adopt the lions until the previous owner decides to reclaim them.

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation said it was checking the lions' microchips to verify if the transfer was legal.

The lions were allowed to stay with Sun during the investigations, which are expected to take around a month to complete.

Sun Yuhan was previously involved in another case last year, in which a Thai driver, Pongthep Reunreng, allegedly rear-ended her Rolls-Royce Ghost. She was reported to have demanded compensation for the damages, with Pongthep having to sell his pickup truck to pay.

China has a poor reputation for animal welfare compared with other more developed nations such as the United Kingdom,