Four Thai men have been arrested after allegedly abducting a Chinese tourist from a Bangkok hotel and attempting to transport her towards the Myanmar border.
The woman escaped from a moving car during a police pursuit in Kamphaeng Phet province on Sunday, despite having her hands restrained with cable ties. She was found with swollen lips and bruising across her body before being taken to hospital for treatment.
According to police, the tourist had arrived in Thailand during a stopover while travelling to Singapore. After checking into a Bangkok hotel, she contacted someone by telephone whom she believed to be a tour guide, although she had never met the person face to face.
A black Nissan Teana arrived at the hotel to collect her on Sunday. The vehicle reportedly stopped a short distance away to pick up three additional men, prompting the woman to realise she had been deceived.
She told investigators that the men confiscated her mobile phone, bound her hands with cable ties and struck her in the mouth with an elbow when she attempted to resist.
As the sedan approached a police checkpoint in Kamphaeng Phet, the woman shouted to officers for assistance. The driver allegedly accelerated through the checkpoint, leading police to launch a pursuit.
During the chase, the woman managed to open one of the car doors and jump from the moving vehicle on Ratchadamnoen Road in Nai Mueang subdistrict. She then ran to a salon near a traffic-light junction and knocked on the door for help.
Members of the public and police officers came to her assistance and arranged for her to be taken to hospital.
Initial reports suggested that the suspects had pushed or abandoned the woman from the vehicle. However, she later told investigators that she had escaped by opening the door herself.
Pol Col Somkasem Charak, superintendent of Mueang Kamphaeng Phet Police Station, ordered patrol officers to pursue and intercept the sedan after it broke through the checkpoint.
Officers followed the vehicle towards Lan Dokmai subdistrict, where police fired at one of its tyres, according to Pol Maj Chakkaphet Khrueacha, an inspector at the station.
The damaged tyre eventually forced the car to stop. All four men abandoned the vehicle and fled into nearby woodland.
Police captured two suspects, Somkiat, 41, and Kittiporn, 24, shortly afterwards. Both are reportedly residents of Mae Sot district in Tak province.
The remaining suspects, identified as Suchart, 41, and Kittisak, 22, initially evaded arrest but were apprehended at a Buddhist temple in Lan Dokmai on Monday evening.
Investigators believe the group intended to take the Chinese woman to Mae Sot, a border district in Tak province, before possibly transporting her into Myanmar.
Driver Claims He Was Paid 10,000 Baht
Pol Lt Col Suwich Phit-on, deputy superintendent of Mueang Kamphaeng Phet Police Station and the officer overseeing the investigation, said police were questioning the suspects to determine whether a wider criminal network was involved.
Kittiporn, whom police identified as the driver, allegedly claimed that Somkiat had offered him 10,000 baht to collect the woman from her Bangkok hotel.
He reportedly told investigators that he drove a short distance after picking her up before stopping to collect Somkiat and two other men.
Kittiporn claimed that the two passengers in the back seat seized the woman’s telephone and restrained her hands. He alleged that when he questioned their actions, he was instructed not to interfere and to continue driving.
The sedan continued towards Kamphaeng Phet until it reached the police checkpoint, where the woman’s cries for help alerted officers and triggered the pursuit.
Police are continuing to question all four suspects and investigate whether other individuals were involved in the alleged abduction.
