PATTAYA, Thailand – A Chinese national has been slapped with 46 years behind bars for running a military-grade weapons depot in Pattaya. Mingchen Sun copped to all charges Sunday, admitting he stored M16 rifles, C4 explosives and signal jammers.
The Pattaya Provincial Court handed down the sentence after Sun pleaded guilty to every count. The judges said the cache posed a serious threat to public and national security.
Confession slashes sentence by a third
The court set the total punishment at 44 years and 24 months – exactly 46 years. Sun confessed to all charges during the trial, sparing the court a lengthy evidence process.
His guilty plea earned him a one-third reduction. But the judges were not fooled: the nature and scale of the arsenal, they ruled, represented a concrete danger to everyone.
Arsenal included M16s, C4 and jammers
Investigators first raided the weapons depot on May 8. They seized Glock 9mm pistols, M4 and M16 rifles plus ammunition and magazines.
Also found: high-explosive C4, bomb components and bulletproof vests. Officers confiscated radio signal jammers, chemical protection masks and remote control transmitters.
Confession secured leniency but jail still harsh
Mingchen Sun denied none of the acts. He gave a full confession in court, avoiding a drawn-out trial.
The judges saw that as a mitigating factor. But because multiple laws were broken – from weapons regulations to radio communications control – the punishment remained severe.
Second suspect stays behind bars
Another accused person rejected all allegations. The court severed his case and gave prosecutors 15 days to file a new indictment.
That man remains in pre-trial detention. Whether he had any link to the weapons depot will be decided in a separate trial.
All weapons confiscated for good
The verdict orders the forfeiture of every seized item. Guns, ammunition, explosives and protective gear will now be held permanently by the state.
The court aims to ensure the dangerous arsenal never returns to circulation. In its ruling, it highlighted the acute threat to internal security.