Police are hunting a Hong Kong passport holder over the kidnapping of a Chinese tourist in Thailand, who was abducted from a Bangkok airport and held for two weeks, with the suspects exacting a HK$2.4 million ransom (US$305,000).
The 39-year-old victim, Jincai Chen, was taken by four men and one woman after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport about 9.30pm May 6 on a flight from Hong Kong, according to the Bangkok Post.
She was released and found safe on a roadside in the Thai capital last Saturday.
According to The Nation, the kidnappers — which included a Thai immigration official — demanded a ransom of 2 million yuan (HK$2.4 million or US$305,000) from the woman’s husband, a Tanzanian citizen of Korean origin.
He reportedly paid the amount, though contacted police last week after the gang demanded another 1 million yuan (HK$1.23 million or US$156,000).
In a story today, The Standard, reported that between May 6 to 18 the gang kept the victim at a hotel in Bangkok before moving her to a rented house in Pattaya, and then to a house on Koh Samet in Rayong province.
She was then blindfolded and brought back to Bangkok, where she was set free unharmed on the side of Bang Na-Trat Road in Bang Na district, Bangkok. She then called her relatives who alerted the police.
According to the Bangkok Post, Thai police deputy commissioner Surachate Hakparn said the gang comprised one Thai woman and four Chinese suspects.
The Thai national, Wansikan Termthanapat, has been arrested while Thai police look for more suspects in the country.
The Chinese kidnappers, meanwhile, were named as Wenqu Sun, Song Ming, Dongliang Sun and Meiling Kai.
According to Ming Pao, Song Ming is suspected to hold a Hong Kong passport.
Three of the four wanted Chinese suspects took Cathay Pacific flight CX703 from Hong Kong to Bangkok on May 6. They left Thailand on different dates, The Standard reported.
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