Police are stepping up efforts to find and rescue a Chinese woman believed to have been kidnapped in Thailand and held for ransom by a compatriot.
A Chinese national called Cai Boxuan called police at the Bang Rak station on Friday and told them that his friend Yan Ruimin, 38, was missing.
The last time he heard from her was on June 30 when she told him that she would go to Phuket on July 2. He said he feared she might be in danger.
According to a police source, Ms Yan’s relatives grew concerned after not hearing from her for some time, so they came to Thailand and asked the Chinese embassy for help. A suspect subsequently contacted them and demanded a ransom of 1 million yuan (5 million baht) for Ms Yan’s release.
The suspect told them not to inform police or the embassy, otherwise he would not guarantee her safety, the source said.
Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Thiti Sangsawang has ordered investigators to work with the Immigration Bureau to find Ms Yan and hunt the suspect.
The source said the suspect was identified as Ma Qingyan and a check found that he rented a car in Bangkok on June 30. An employee of the rental company delivered the car to a hotel in the Silom area where he was staying.
On July 1, Ms Yan was seen getting into the car at Times Square near Sukhumvit Soi 12, the source said, adding that security camera video showed the car heading to Sukhumvit Soi 16.
The following day, the car left Soi Sukhumvit 16 and headed to Chon Buri.
At about 2am on July 3, the car appeared in Chachoengsao before Ms Yan’s telephone signal went off in an area near a public park close to Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan in Muang district, the source said.
The suspect later checked out of the Silom hotel and returned the rented car before travelling to Suvarnabhumi airport and flying to Hong Kong on the afternoon of July 3, the source said.
