Tourist police have arrested three Chinese nationals for allegedly holding hostage another Chinese national for ransom.
The three suspects, who are all in their fifties, were identified by police as Zhou Junrong, Liangzhi Yun and Xu Zhiwei. They were apprehended after tourist police were informed by the Chinese Embassy that another Chinese national, Jian Tian Ming, was being held hostage.
Tourist Police Chief Police Major General Surachet Hakpaan said Jian Tian Ming arrived in Thailand last month to have a business discussion with one of the suspects, whom he met in China.
The victim claimed the three of them appeared to be hospitable and took him to several tourist sites. They later took him to a hotel on Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok where they then detained him.
The three of them forced him to call his relatives in China and asked them to transfer 1.5 million baht. They also threatened to hurt him if the money was not wired to their account on time.
However, his relatives only transferred half the ransom amount and decided to contact the Chinese Embassy in Thailand to seek its assistance in finding him.
