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)
