Police seek warrants for 4 suspects

GRUESOME MURDER IN TAK

>>Kamphaeng Phet police are seeking arrest warrants for four suspects believed to be involved in the gruesome murder of a Chinese man, whose body was found in a suitcase on the banks of the Ping River in Muang district on Feb 25.

“Police are collecting evidence for arrests. The evidence so far shows all suspects are Chinese nationals,” Pol Col Chittipon Phonprueksa, deputy commander of Kamphaeng Phet provinical police, said yesterday.

Despite concern the suspects may flee to Myanmar across the Tak border, Pol Col Chittipon believes the suspects are still in Tak province.

The suspects, who have been identified as Xiao Xiang Yu, Hu Zheng Xiong, Fan Gang Gang and Qin Miao, will be charged with the detention and premeditated murder of Wang Jun, 30, also a Chinese national.

Pol Col Chittipon said the victim had suffocated, which means the man may have been alive when he was stuffed in the bag.

Initial investigation shows the victim entered Thailand on Feb 12 with a woman friend and was staying in Pattaya. The pair were to return to China on Feb 26. Police have yet to track down his friend.

The body was found by a fisherman near an islet in the middle of the Ping River in Moo 8 of Tha Mai Daeng village in Muang district.

Villagers told police that on Feb 24, they saw an unfamiliar van parked near a bridge and an unidentified object being thrown into the river — 500 metres from where the suitcase was found.

Police said CCTV images showed a van with a Chinese national behind the wheel.

Police have also interrogated a driver who was hired by three Chinese men to take them from Chon Buri to Tak’s Mae Sot district. The driver said he was made to stop in Ayutthaya, Kamphaeng Phet and Mae Sot district, to drop off several bags.

Following the driver’s information, police found two bags, one red and one gold. One contained men’s clothing, a mobile charger, sneakers and other items believed to belong to the victim, while the other contained women’s clothing, shoes, charger and various other items. Police have not revealed details on where the bags were found, though relatives of the victim confirmed the items belonged to Wang Jun. They are in Thailand to take his remains back home.