Image from The Nation Thailand/ANN.
BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): The body of a missing Chinese woman believed to have been kidnapped for ransom was found on Saturday in overgrown grassland in Bang Phra, Mueang district, Chachoengsao province, in a decomposed state after having been buried for more than 10 days.
Authorities conducted extensive searches for Ma Qingyan, a Chinese national who picked up Yan Ruimin, 38, from Sukhumvit Soi 16 in Bangkok, the last known location of the two before the woman's disappearance on July 1. Ma is suspected of kidnapping Yan.
Police said the missing woman travelled from Malaysia to Thailand alone on June 26, while the male suspect travelled from Singapore to Thailand on June 30. The woman had visited Thailand 10 times before, while the male suspect had visited six times. The two were believed to have known each other.
On June 28-29, the woman stayed in Pattaya. She travelled to Bangkok on June 30 and stayed at a hotel before moving to a friend's house in the Rama 9 area. On July 1, she took a Grab taxi to Sukhumvit Soi 12, where the male suspect picked her up, and they stayed together in Sukhumvit Soi 16.
At 11pm on the same day, the woman’s friend told police she could not be contacted. Surveillance footage from the night of July 1 showed the male suspect driving alone from Sukhumvit Soi 16 to Chachoengsao province, stopping at multiple locations.
At some points, he stayed in the car, while at others, he got out. In total, he made 12 stops, eventually reaching a final location where he burned a suitcase in a deserted area near a pond.
The suspect was seen leaving the site after about an hour and five minutes, returning to Bangkok on July 2 and renting a room in the Srinakarin area before returning the rental car.
Forensic examinations of the Srinakarin residence found bloodstains near the sink. Bloodstains were also found in the rental car in the driver’s seat, back seat, car door, and trunk.
On Saturday, police inspected grassland in Bang Phra, Chachoengsao, spending nearly two hours at the scene.
Rescue workers helped search by cutting the grass in the area that was full of broken tiles after detectives found two black plastic bags filled with soil and broken tiles nearby.
The smell of decay emanated from the site of the search. At 12.30pm, rescue workers dug about 20 centimetres into the soil, uncovering a blue tarp in the water. Beneath the tarp was the partially decomposed body.
Despite the decomposition, some body parts remained intact, and one silicone implant was found in the water and the other still attached to her left chest. The police coordinated with forensic teams and hospitals to examine the scene, collecting tissue samples for DNA.
Police are intensifying efforts to apprehend the suspect, who is believed to have spent almost 40 minutes at the burial site, located about 1 kilometre from the location where the suitcase and documents were burned. The authorities aim to bring the perpetrator to justice, despite his probable departure from the country. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
