In the bustling cityscape of Bangkok, nestled amidst the usual humdrum of city life, an unusual encounter unfurled on the Sirat Expressway. Here, Metropolitan Police officers made a surprising discovery linked to a bone-chilling kidnap-for-ransom case, amidst an investigation into a minor car collision involving Thai and Chinese civilians.
As reported by ThaiRath, the Expressway Police Station 2 was alerted about the incident by a 33-year-old Thai national, known as Somphong Sisod. Casualties from the accident included a grey Toyota Yaris sedan and Somphong’s personal vehicle – a white Toyota Fortuner SUV.
The sedan was driven by Zhao Wulin, a 36-year-old Chinese national, who offered to cover the damage expenses using a translator app. However, Somphong turned down the offer, recommending contacting insurance companies instead for a more thorough procedure.
This ordinary traffic exchange took an unexpected turn when additional police officers arrived at the scene, seemingly out of the blue, and detained Wulin. Baffled by this abrupt turn of events, Somphong later discovered the dire reason behind it. Unbeknownst to him, his car collision adversary had a convoluted backstory involving a kidnap-for-ransom plot of a Chinese woman, who happened to be in the same sedan during the accident.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Noppasin Poonsawat publicly disclosed further details after a thorough probe into the situation. According to him, the victim was an agent for a South Korean Plastic Surgery Hospital, while her captor, Wulin, operated as a driver in Dubai. Both parties were vacationing in Thailand when they connected over the Telegram application, which eventually led to an in-person meeting after an extensive period of digital exchanges.
In the events that followed, the unsuspecting woman was plied with alcohol, kidnapped by Wulin, and subjected to a ransom demand for 50,000 yuan, approximately 250,000 baht. With her finances falling short, the victim appealed to a friend who transferred the demanded funds.
In a final daring act, Wulin escorted her to the bank for the withdrawal. However, a fateful collision on the expressway with Somphong’s car disrupted his scheme, simultaneously providing the victim with an opportune moment to escape—leapfrogging from the sedan straight into a passing taxi.
Currently, intensive investigations are underway, seeking to establish whether Wulin’s criminal web extends past the Thai soil to his motherland and whether he had an arrest warrant out in his name in China.
Commissioner Noppasin later stated that the incident was strikingly similar to a recent crime that took place on April 18, with Chinese nationals involved in a kidnapping case in Bangkok’s entertainment venue, RCA. The kidnapper in the prior case had managed to shake law enforcement by fleeing from Thailand.
The local community has been unsettled by the chain of events that unfolded in what initially seemed to be a routine traffic incident. Now, investigators strive to crack this complex case, portraying the intricate embroidery that entwines everyday Thai life with clandestine activities.
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