A Chinese tourist was arrested for allegedly selling fake gold to pawn shops in Thailand.

Deng Huanyou, 29, reportedly pawned the counterfeit accessories across Thai 'Sin City' Pattaya.

Tourist Police Division 1 officers launched an investigation following a complaint from a store owner that the suspect had sold fake jewellery to them.

Police nabbed the Chinese man as he was trying to pawn a 3.5-baht weight gold bracelet at a shop on December 25.

They received a call from the staff, and intercepted Deng as he was walking out onto the street.

Footage shows officers cuffing the tourist, who did not resist arrest. Police seized from him a fake gold bracelet, a pawn ticket, and 80,000 baht (1,850 GBP) in cash.

Police Colonel Man Rodthong, superintendent of the Tourist Police Division 1 Sub-Division 2, said: ‘The suspect admitted to the charges. We have handed him over to the inquiry officer at Pattaya City Police Station. 

‘He has been charged with fraud, and we will proceed with legal action.'

Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand. In the ensuing years, the coastal resort spawned 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.