A Chinese girl was almost kidnapped while traveling to Thailand

Police in Kamphaeng Phet province, northern Thailand, arrested Somkiat Thakaeo, 41, and Kittiporn Winya, 24, suspected of involvement in the failed kidnapping of a Chinese girl from a hotel in Bangkok, Khaosod reported on August 24.

The two suspects are both from Mae Sot district in Tak province, near the border with Myanmar. Police are also searching for the two remaining suspects in the group that kidnapped the girl.

The incident started around 9:00 p.m. on August 23, when the girl was picked up at the hotel by a black Nissan Teana car. She booked the car through someone she believed was a tour guide, but only contacted this person by phone.

After leaving the hotel, the car stopped to pick up three more men. The girl now realized she had been tricked and tried to resist, but the suspects confiscated her phone and tied her hands with plastic drawstring. The group seemed to want to take her to Mae Sot district, possibly to cross the border into Myanmar.

As the car passed through Kamphaeng Phet province, the girl saw a checkpoint outside Chula police station and shouted for help. The driver of the car immediately accelerated and ran through the checkpoint.

While the police chased her, she used all her strength to open the door and jump out of the car. She went to a salon, knocked on the door for help and was taken to the hospital by residents and police.

According to Chakkaphet Khrueacha police, the authorities continued to pursue and opened fire, shooting out a tire, forcing the vehicle to stop. Four men left the car and fled into the woods along the road. Somkiat and Kittiporn were arrested, while the remaining two suspects escaped.

Kittiporn confessed to being the driver hired by Somkiat for 10,000 baht to pick up the Chinese woman from her hotel in Bangkok. Two people sitting in the back seat snatched the woman’s phone and tied her hands. Kittiporn asked what they were doing but was told to keep driving.

Investigators said they are questioning the two suspects to clarify whether there was a ring or other people involved in the incident. The girl told police that she had an accident while traveling alone to Thailand.

The incident shocked public opinion, reminding many people of the case of Chinese actor Wang Jing being tricked from Thailand to Mae Sot and taken to Myanmar to work in an online fraud ring. Vuong Tinh was later rescued by Thai police in Myanmar.