"Thai TV celebrity" involved in abduction of Singaporean businessman, say police

[webfact]

"Thai TV celebrity" involved in abduction of Singaporean businessman, say police

 

Picture: Sanook

 

A well known Channel 3 celebrity of mixed nationality is involved in the case of the abduction of a Singaporean businessman, said Thai police.

 

The 33 year old businessman had come with a compatriot to Thailand. After arriving at Suvarnabhumi he was whisked off in a taxi by several Thais to the Chacherngsao area. 

 

There on Route 304 at a gas station he was transferred to a car owned by the celebrity, said police. 

 

He was taken to woods and roughed up in an attempt to get him to repay 4 million baht owed as part of a start up business and bit-coin dealings.

 

He was unable to transfer money owed after he had deleted an app on his phone. He was only able to pay some money owed to the girlfriend of one of the abductors who he named as "Kim". 

 

He told police that he managed to get away on Friday morning and alert locals who took him to Ongkharak police station in Nakhon Nayok north of Bangkok where he filed a report. 

 

Sanook reported that apart from being involved in business the victim is a well known tutor of students in Brunei and design competition judge. 

 

He had come to Thailand with a Singaporean friend who is involved in the abduction with several Thais, said police.

 

None of the identities of those involved have so far been revealed.  

 

Source: Sanook

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-01-13

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[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

None of the identities of those involved have so far been revealed

Par for the course.... protect the villains!

[johng]

7 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Par for the course.... protect the villains!

The ridiculous defamation laws ensures that.

[POMRAKSIAM]

Ok ..if non of them have been named why mention the mixed race tv celebrity from ch 3???

Nutty article with drama as bad as Thai soap opera

[Artisi]

8 minutes ago, POMRAKSIAM said:

Ok ..if non of them have been named why mention the mixed race tv celebrity from ch 3???

Nutty article with drama as bad as Thai soap opera

Thought it was a trailer for an upcoming soapie.... 

[Narong Wongwan]

BANGKOK - A Singaporean man was kidnapped by a fellow Singaporean in Thailand last week and released after transferring bitcoins worth some 1.4 million baht (S$62,450) to the captor, the police told The Straits Times on Monday (Jan 13).

The kidnapper has been arrested and most of the loot recovered.

Police said Mr Mark Cheng Jin Quan, 32, had taken a taxi with Lee Wei Kim, 31, after both arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport just outside Bangkok on Jan 9. Mr Cheng told the police they had not known each other for long.

Mr Cheng is the co-founder of Avelife, a non-governmental organisation which focuses on social enterprise and the environment. He was the first Singaporean to win the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 2016.

According to Mr Cheng's police testimony, after about an hour's ride, the taxi stopped at a petrol station on Suwintawong Road in Chachoengsao province where a black Ford Ranger pickup was parked. The vehicle, which Mr Cheng believed was owned by a Thai actor he knew, was waiting for them.

At the petrol station, Mr Cheng said he was taken hostage, a hood put over his head and driven to Kabin Buri district in the central province of Prachin Buri, some 135km east of Bangkok.

The police did not elaborate but one local news website, Khaosod, said a driver was waiting at the petrol station and Mr Cheng was whisked away in the Ford pickup.

Another news website, Thairath, said the owner of the pickup has been identified by police as 24-year-old Thai actor, Chano Pemberger, who would be summoned for questioning by the police.

Mr Cheng said he was beaten before he transferred the bitcoins to Lee.

A day after his kidnap, on Jan 10, Mr Cheng was dropped off in Ongkharak district in Nakhon Nayok province. A passing driver gave him a ride to a nearby police station, said Police Colonel Chat Narong, chief of Ongkarak police.

"Bruises on many parts of his body and his face could be clearly seen when he walked in," the police chief said.

A coordinated police manhunt was launched and Lee was arrested on Sunday in a hotel in Bangkok.

He was charged with several offences including robbery, detention of others, physical assault and illegal possession of firearms which could lead to a life sentence, said Police Major General Chakrit Sawasdee, Chachoengsao's police chief.

Lee confessed to all the charges. Thai police managed to retrieve 1.2 million baht from him and returned the amount to Mr Cheng, said Pol Maj Gen Chakrit.

The police said Mr Cheng remains in Thailand and is expected to testify at Lee's trial.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/singaporean-man-kidnapped-in-thailand-by-fellow-singaporean-ransom-paid-in-bitcoins
 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Narong Wongwan

[atyclb]

17 hours ago, POMRAKSIAM said:

Ok ..if non of them have been named why mention the mixed race tv celebrity from ch 3???

Nutty article with drama as bad as Thai soap opera

 

 

due to defamation laws they do not want to mention names but they give specific and significant clues