Police are looking for a Singaporean man who was seen with his Thai girlfriend at a condominium building in Bangkok before she was found dead.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the suspect either may be in Chiang Rai or may have crossed the Myanmar border, Pol Maj Gen Noppasin Poonsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said yesterday.
Two women had informed police officers at Thong Lor station on Wednesday that they lost contact with their friend Praopilat Paladon, a 30-year-old native of Khon Kaen province, on Monday evening.
On Wednesday at 6pm, the women brought a record of their police complaint to the Marque building on Sukhumvit Soi 39 in Watthana district, Praopilat's place of residence in Bangkok.
When they went to Praopilat's condo on the 22nd floor, they found that the door was not locked and the air-conditioner inside was turned on.
They then found Praopilat dead on the bathroom floor wrapped in a bloodstained blanket, bed sheet and bathrobe.
The two women told police that Praopilat had a 32-year-old Singaporean boyfriend -- identified as Daniel -- and that she complained about frequent fights and physical abuse.
The couple moved into the condominium about two months ago. A check of immigration records showed that the suspect had made 31 visits to Thailand and stayed for 10 to 15 days at a time. However, his most recent stay lasted for one year, although his visa expired on May 28 last year.
Security footage from the condominium building showed the couple in an elevator at 6.42pm on Sunday on their way to leave the building. At 9.17pm that night, the Singaporean man is seen bringing the woman back to the room.
Praopilat had not exited her room since Sunday, which was her birthday, and no one else entered the room except the couple, said Pol Maj Gen Noppasin.
CCTV footage showed the man returning to the condominium at 12.12am on Monday. At 10.29am, there was a call from the woman's phone to her mother but she did not pick up. The mother called back at 10.35am and received no answer.
At that time, the Singaporean man was believed to have been in the room and police did not know who made the call from Praopilat's phone, said Pol Maj Gen Noppasin.
The Singaporean man was seen leaving the room with his luggage at 3.15pm on Tuesday. Two minutes later he allegedly got into a black Mercedes-Benz he had called via a ride-hailing app. Police subsequently discovered the car was registered in Bangkok to a Thai man who is deceased.
The man allegedly went to a restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 41 and then to a hotel on Phetchaburi Road. There, he allegedly met two men and then got into an Isuzu pickup. It was later learned that the pickup was headed for Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.
Police in Chiang Rai and officials in the adjacent town of Tachileik in Myanmar have been asked to look for the suspect, said Pol Maj Gen Noppasin.
As of the press time yesterday, police were still unable to arrest him.
The mother of the woman, who identified herself as Pla, said yesterday that she was travelling from Khon Kaen to Bangkok to receive her daughter's body.
Ms Pla said her phone calls to her daughter had gone unanswered since Monday, so she had asked her daughter's friends to check on her.
The man initially did not answer her phone calls and later turned off his phone, Ms Pla said. She described the man as her daughter's "husband".
Ms Pla said Praopilat met the man in Singapore, and both returned to Thailand three years ago. The man allegedly told Praopilat to quit her job and promised he would take care of her. He often travelled between Bangkok and Singapore.
The mother said she had witnessed some fights between the couple, but they were not violent.
However, Ms Pla said her daughter later started sending her pictures of bruises on her body, which Praopilat blamed on the Singaporean man. The daughter said that if she disappeared, it would be because of him, the mother said.
