Human remains thought to belong to Chinese social media influencer Yan Ruimin were found nearly two weeks after she disappeared in Thailand. - RUIMIN/XIAOHONGSHU
BANGKOK: A suspect linked to the alleged murder and dismemberment of a Chinese social media influencer in Thailand has been arrested in Macau.
On Monday (July 15), the Macau police told local media that the 34-year-old man was nabbed after he had allegedly attempted to defraud a pawnshop with a counterfeit luxury watch.
While he was detained, the police realised that the unemployed Chinese national, identified by Macau media with his surname Ma, was the murder suspect that the mainland authorities had been looking for.
Reports of his arrest come two days after badly decomposed human remains were found at a deserted site in Chachoengsao, about 50km east of Bangkok. The remains are believed to belong to social media influencer Yan Ruimin, who went missing in the Thai capital nearly two weeks ago.
Yan was active on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, where she had about 15,300 followers. On her account, Yan documented her travels, which included Thailand and Singapore, with her most recent post occurring in May in Macau.
She last contacted a friend on June 30 while travelling alone. The 38-year-old told him that she planned to go to Phuket on July 2, but she never arrived, The Nation reported.
According to her friend, an unknown person had contacted Yan’s family in China, demanded for 5 million baht (S$185,500) in ransom and warned the family against contacting the police or the embassy.
Worried about her safety, the friend made a police report on July 12.
However, Thailand’s Metropolitan Police Bureau has ruled out the possibility of the victim being kidnapped for ransom by a transnational crime syndicate, saying her disappearance was likely a personal matter, according to The Bangkok Post.
CCTV footage from the area where the victim was last seen in Bangkok on July 1 showed that she had entered a White Honda car driven by a man, according to The Nation.
The pair were last seen eating durian at Khlong Toei market, holding hands and walking before getting into the car.
The next day, the vehicle left for Chonburi in eastern Thailand, The Bangkok Post reported.
At about 2am on July 3, Yan’s telephone signal went off in an area near a public park in Chachoengsao.
Around midday on July 13, a search team by the police discovered a skeleton, including human legs, dumped at a deserted site near a housing estate in the province.
Police investigations found that the vehicle had been rented in Bangkok by the suspect, identified as Ma Qingyan.
He returned the rented car before travelling to Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s main airport, and flew to Hong Kong on the afternoon of July 3.
A week later, he was caught pawning the counterfeit watch in Macau, and later arrested by the Macau police for fraud on July 12 while he was trying to leave by ferry to Hong Kong.
Ma was then handed over to the mainland authorities on the morning of July 15.
Meanwhile, forensic scientists are still trying to identify the body, with results expected on July 19, The Bangkok Post reported.
“Because the remains were badly decomposed, DNA samples had to be extracted from the bones,” said the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine’s commander Supichai Limsiwawong.
Should the remains’ DNA match that of Yan’s father, the police will be able to seek an arrest warrant against Ma.
In May 2023, The South China Morning Post reported that the Thai and Chinese police have combined forces to tackle a rise in abductions targeting Chinese nationals. - The Straits Times/ANN
