PUBLISHED ONJuly 16, 2024 5:40 AMByKhoo Yi-Hang[UPDATED: July 16, 5pm]
The suspect, Ma Qingyan, has been arrested in Macau. The 34-year-old unemployed Chinese national was nabbed after he had allegedly pawned a counterfeit luxury watch.
While he was detained, the police realised that Ma was a murder suspect wanted by the mainland authorities .
The dismembered remains of a Chinese TikToker, who was missing for nearly two weeks, have been found. But the suspect, who is also Chinese, has fled the country, according to Thai media.
Yan Ruimin travelled to Thailand from Malaysia on June 26.
Her last known contact was a phone call with her friend, Cai Boxuan, where the 38-year-old shared her plans to go to Phuket on July 2.
The influencer became uncontactable subsequently and Cai filed a missing persons report at the Bang Rak Police Station in Bangkok last Friday (July 12), Nation Thailand reported.
Thai police then launched an investigation, mobilising a search team to look for Yan.
A day after the report was lodged, the search team uncovered a badly decomposed and dismembered body in a deserted area near a housing district in Bang Phra, Chachoengsao, which is 50km east of Bangkok.
DNA tests are being conducted to confirm the body's identity and autopsy results are expected within a week.
Traces of plastic surgery on the body appear to match with Yan's surgery record, Bangkok Post reported.
In the meantime, the police is looking to question Ma Qingyan, who arrived in Thailand from Singapore on June 30.
The Chinese national is believed to have met Yan on July 1 - the same day she was likely murdered - in Bangkok.
Surveillance footage around 5.30pm that day shows Ma picking up Yan in a white Honda. The duo drove off and later parked the car in another location. They were seen speaking with each other, holding hands at one point, according to NetEase News.
Yan and Ma went to Soi 16 in Sukhumvit, where they stayed until night time.
According to Thai media, police evidence shows that Ma then drove a rental car out of Bangkok and made 12 stops.
His last stop was at Chachoengsao, where police suspect he spent an hour burning documents and disposing of Yan's belongings, including her suitcase.
This location is just 1km away from where Yan's body was discovered, Thai media reported.
On July 3, Ma returned his rental vehicle and left for Hong Kong, after which he went to Macau.
Despite there being no record of Yan leaving Thailand, her WeChat Pay account was used in several transactions in Macau between July 4 and 6.
Blood was found in both Ma's vehicle and hotel room in Bangkok, the police said.
Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy chief, Police Major General Noppasin Poolsawat said that the police are trying to arrest Ma and bring him back to Thailand for questioning, Thai Examiner reported.
He also dispelled rumours of any crime syndicate's involvement in Yan's disappearance, suggesting there had been some miscommunication in her correspondence with her family.
This came when one of Yan's relatives in China claimed to have received a ransom demand from Ma for 5 million baht (S$185,504), after they went to the Chinese embassy in Thailand to seek help for Yan's whereabouts.
Yan is among a string of missing tourists who have turned up dead while visiting Thailand.
In May, the body of South Korean tourist Roh Eui Jong was found stuffed inside a black plastic container filled with cement in Pattaya.
Three South Korean nationals were suspected of kidnapping and murdering Roh. Two of them were nabbed after fleeing to South Korea and Cambodia respectively, while the other one remains at large.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
