The Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant yesterday for a 35-year-old man who is suspected of murdering a Thai couple in Taiwan.
The suspect is Santi Supa-apiradeepailin. The Thai national is wanted in connection with the deaths of Prasert Norat, 32, and his wife Potjanee sae Lee, 35. The deceased woman was five months' pregnant with twins.
Their bodies were found in a parked car outside the Taoyuan high-speed rail station on Sunday. Taiwanese police stated they believed the suspect was a family friend who immediately fled home to Thailand.
Pol Col Anek Taosuphap, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division, said Thai officers have been cooperating with Taiwan's police attache in Thailand, and have received forensic evidence and related reports from their counterparts in Taiwan.
Pol Col Anek said the suspect was a business partner of the victims who had opened a company to recruit Thais to work in Taiwan. The police found Mr Santi departed Thailand for Taiwan on April 6 and returned to Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 9. He took a flight to Chiang Mai that same day.
After arriving, he took a taxi to his home in Chai Prakan district, where his two children live with his father, sister and brother-in-law. He then borrowed his father's car and drove past Uttaradit and Phitsanulok, according to CCTV footage, before the trail went cold.
Pol Lt Gen Piya Tawichai, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 5 said officers will investigate anyone who may have assisted with his escape. Police believe he is either still at large in Thailand or has slipped across the border to a part of Myanmar controlled by the Wa State Army.
Mr Santi has both Thai and Taiwanese nationalities.