Two Japanese men are prime suspects in the murder and dismemberment of another Japanese man whose remains were found in Nonthaburi province last week.
Decaying parts of the body were found in black plastic bags on Soi Jadsan Thee Din 2 off Ban Kluai-Sai Noi Road in tambon Pimolrat in Bang Bua Thong district last Friday and again on Tuesday.
Police began their search for the two men after a Thai suspect was arrested on Tuesday night. He said two Japanese men had recently killed and dismembered the victim in Bang Bua Thong.
The 34-year-old Thai suspect was identified only as Games. He told police that two Japanese men had hired him as a chauffeur, said Pol Lt Gen Jirasant Kaewsaeng-ek, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1.
The commissioner quoted the suspect as saying that he brought three Japanese men to a restaurant on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok on March 27. Later that night he drove them to a warehouse in Bang Bua Thong. The two suspects sat in the back seat of the white car and the third Japanese man in the front passenger seat, and they argued along the way, he said.
When they reached their destination, the Japanese men ordered their driver to get out of the car and they drove it into the warehouse. The Thai man waited nearby and heard a gunshot inside the warehouse. Later he saw the victim dead in the car.
At about 10am on March 28, the two Japanese suspects returned to the warehouse, dismembered the body and put its parts in plastic bags. They rented a red car and had the Thai man drive it to locations where the plastic bags were dropped.
The victim’s skull was found on Tuesday and it had a bullet hole, said Pol Lt Gen Jirasant.
Police are still identifying the suspects and the victim, but they believe all three were part of the same gang and were involved in illicit business in Thailand after having done so in Japan.
Police believe the suspects are still hiding in the country.
Police on Wednesday question the Thai suspect at the warehouse where he said a Japanese man was shot dead in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi. (Police photo)