Two tourists have been arrested for allegedly installing a skimming device on an ATM in Thailand.

Chinese holidaymaker Zhang Qiyu, 28, and his Taiwanese friend Chiu Yung-Sheng, 41, reportedly attached the skimmer to an automatic teller in the popular red light district nightstrip Walking Street in Pattaya on September 25.

CCTV footage shows the pair standing in front of the ATM at 1 am to fit the card reader, which they used to copy card details.

An eagle-eyed bank employee filed a report about the 'abnormal' ATM, and Chonburi police swooped in to arrest the suspects at Room 607 of the Mylin Holiday Hotel on September 28.

Police Major General Ittiporn Phothong, the deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 2, who led the operation, said authorities seized five skimmers, a data recording device, a computer, six counterfeit ATM cards, and two fake ATM keypads from the scene.

Police Major General Theerachai Chamnanmor, Commander of Provincial Police Region 2, said: 'Once the suspects installed the skimmer and extracted the data, the victim's information will be copied onto an electronic card with a magnetic stripe on the back. The card can then be used to pay for products or withdraw cash.'

Zhang Qiyu and Chiu Yung-Sheng were handed over to the Banglamung Police Station and charged with multiple offences, including forgery and using counterfeit electronic cards, and creating instruments for acquiring data for counterfeiting.

If found guilty, they could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to 140,000 baht.

Police Major General Theerachai said: 'We ask people to be vigilant. If you experience abnormal ATM behaviour, such as the lights not turning on or flashing, or a malfunction with the machine, notify the relevant authorities immediately.'

Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the United States had military bases in Thailand. The ensuing years saw the coastal resort spawn into a semi-barbarous sex-tourism hellscape.

Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects but a ravenous nightlife industry and corrupt police have hampered their efforts, with undesirables from all nations still attracted to the seedy city.