6 days ago
Chinese man lured from Laos, abducted and slain
CHIANG MAI - A missing Chinese man was found dead on Monday evening, believed murdered by Chinese abductors who had lured him from Laos and demanded 3 million baht for his release.
The body of the 24-year-old, identified as "Mr Yang", was found on a roadside in Ban Pang Haew of tambon Mae Ram in Mae Rim district on Monday evening.
It was wrapped in layers of plastic and a bed sheet.
Pol Lt Gen Kritthapol Yeesakhon, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 5, said the victim's elder sister informed police of his disappearance.
She said he had arrived in Chiang Mai from Laos on July 8, crossing the border from a special economic zone into the northernmost province of Chiang Rai.
Pol Lt Gen Kritthapol said Yang arrived with a Chinese friend, Hukang. On July 10 the friend called the sister and said her brother had been abducted and there was a 3 million baht ransom for his release.
Police found Hukang at a hotel in Chiang Mai and charged him with illegal entry. He told police that he had also been abducted and had paid 1.5 million baht for his freedom.
Hukang told police that two Chinese men he named as Xang and Wang had asked him to bring Yang from Laos to a restaurant on Nimmanhaemin Road in Muang district of Chiang Mai to discuss business.
After the meal, they travelled to a House Xang had rented in tambon San Phak Wan of Hang Dong district in Chiang Mai. They spent the night there.
Hukang said he had woken up to find himself being tied up. He was then threatened with a knife and a ransom demanded for his release.
After transferring the money to the kidnappers he was taken to another room where he saw that Yang had already been murdered. The two kidnappers put him in a vehicle along with Yang's body, which was later dumped beside the road. He was freed outside the hotel where police found him.
Police arrested Xang at Ban Kad Farang in Hang Dong district on July 11 and searched the rented house. There were a lot of blood stains in a bedroom and a garage, police said.
Xang told police that Wang, the other kidnapper, killed Yang with a hammer and then fled. The police investigation was continuing.
