A woman who allegedly has knowledge of the disappearance of a Japanese man has now run away with her daughter, says investigation chief Pol Col Sombat Milintajinda.
Pornchanok Chaiyapa, 47, who has been charged with stealing money from the missing Japanese man and on Friday was released on bail by the Criminal Court, has now gone missing, said Pol Col Sombat.
Investigators believe she fled with her daughter and are looking for Ms Pornchanok in provinces outside Bangkok.
Meanwhile, Royal Thai Police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri said yesterday police continue to probe the disappearance of Yoshinori Shimato, the 79-year-old Japanese who went missing from his accommodation in Din Daeng district on or around Sept 21.
Mr Shimato’s disappearance was reported to Huai Khwang police by his son Tetsuo Shimato on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Metropolitan Police Bureau investigators and forensic police were sent to search Ms Pornchanok’s house in Samut Prakan’s Bang Sao Thong district.
Officers say they found no evidence linking the woman to the disappearance of Mr Shimato, who has lived in Bangkok since 2008. But they did find suspicious withdrawals from the man’s bank account over the past two weeks, with more than 700,000 baht taken out in 14 transactions.
Police went to Mr Shimato’s apartment in Din Daeng district on Friday, where they found Ms Pornchanok packing her bags.
Police questioned her and charged her with stealing money from the missing man. The Criminal Court later released her on 100,000-baht bail.