THE Chinese embassy urged Thai authorities to conduct a transparent investigation into the arrest of four policemen and a civilian on charges of kidnapping and detaining five Chinese citizens at a house in Sa Kaeo province emphasising the impact of this case on bilateral relations, Amarin TV and Thai News Agency said this evening (May 19).
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said his country attaches great importance to this case and immediately contacted relevant Thai authorities to obtain details. Thailand was urged to conduct a “legally sound, fair, and transparent” investigation, expedite the verification of facts, and bring all perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.
The embassy also stated that this case affects “an environment conducive to travel between the people of both countries” and friendly cooperation between Thailand and China.
Chinese citizens residing in Thailand or those planning to travel to Thailand were warned to strictly abide by Thai laws and regulations, exercise increased security precautions, and pay attention to their safety and property. In case of emergencies, they should immediately report to the police and contact the Chinese embassy or consulate general for assistance.
The rescued Chinese victims, speaking through an interpreter, said they were detained from 2 a.m. May 16, handcuffed, and threatened with paying a ransom of US$1,000 baht (approximately 300,000 baht) each for their freedom.
They added that they were travelling in a car with a Thai driver when they were abducted by this group of policemen on charges of violating the Immigration Act. However instead of taking them to the police station they were forced into another car and held captive at an unmarked house in a forest in Wang Mai subdistrict.
Fearing for their lives, two of the victims, Mr. Ding Zheng Fei and Mr. Ren De, transferred US$2,000 each (approximately 1.2 million baht) with evidence of this payment being in their mobile phones.
Another victim secretly sent a distress signal via the LINE application to Pol. Lt. Col. Rawisak Suriyapak, who was working at the Immigration Office in Pathum Thani province. A police team and soldiers from the Burapha Task Force then raided this house and they found police officers standing guard there.
Investigation revealed that the four of them were indeed police officers, namely Pol. Sgt. Paphavin, 43, from the Highway Police; Pol. Sgt. Wuttikorn, 39, from Khlong Hat police station, Sa Kaeo province; Pol. Sgt. Somchai, 45, from Khlong Hat police station; and Pol. Sgt. Pichet, 41, from Ban Plaeng police station, Chanthaburi province. Also present was Mr. Natthanan, 43, a civilian accomplice. The seized items included four handguns, 24 rounds of ammunition, and two Toyota pickup trucks.
All the suspects have denied the charges while the authorities are expanding investigation after the victims implicated another police officer as having been involved in their kidnapping but that he had gone out to buy food when the raid took place.
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Top and Front Page – A representative image of crime by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash
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