CHACHOENGSAO, Jan 14 (TNA) – A Singaporean man has been arrested in Thailand for allegedly kidnapping his colleague for ransom of 5.9 Bitcoin (worth THB1.4 million).
Thai police on Sunday (Jan 12) arrested Lee Wei Kim and recovered THB1.2 million of the ransom paid by his fellow countryman Mark Cheng Jin Quan. After interrogating Kim, police in Chachoengsao said the man confessed of robbery, illegal detention, assault and illegal firearms possession.
Both Singaporean men arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport last Thursday (Jan 9). After sharing a taxi, Lee asked the driver to stop at a gas station in Chachoengsao province where both were taken by a group of masked men onto a pick-up truck.
Police said Cheng was drugged and later brought to a rented room in Kabinburi district, Prachin Buri province. He was tortured and forced to ransom himself via bitcoin.
On the next day, Cheng was left on a roadside in Nakhon Nayok, another province east of Bangkok. He then reported to police.
Investigators revealed on Monday that a former Thai actor named Chano Pemberger, whose car was used in the kidnapping, had been summoned for questioning.
Lee also told police that he planned the abduction for ransom with the help of Pemberger after learning his associate had large amount of bitcoins.
Police said Lee and four others are charged with conspiring to the abduction, assault and ransom and they would conclude the investigation in a few days. (TNA)
