Chin was born in Wat Sai quarter in Thonburi Province (currently Chom Thong District) to a Thai Chinese family.

[2][3] At the age of five years, Chin was sent back to China for education, and upon returning to Thailand at 17, he took up his first job as a manual labourer.

Chin lived in Hong Kong from 1957 on, when Thailand came under the rule of Sarit Thanarat, after he fell out of favour with the former dictator.

Rabin Sophonpanich (also known as Robin Chan) has since relocated to Hong Kong with his family.

On 23 February 2009, she presided over the opening ceremony of the 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2008, held in Bangkok.