CHON BURI: Two Chinese nationals, a woman and a man, are reported to have been adbucted and held for ransom in Chon Buri.
On Monday, Ma Mingshan, 33, a Chinese businessman, filed a complaint with Nong Prue police, saying his wife, Shan Qi Qiang, 33, and his elder brother, 50, had been abducted.
He said that on Monday morning his wife and elder brother took his son Tyson, 3, to an international school in Bang Lamung district. They were in a Nissan Terra SUV with Chon Buri licence plates.
The dropped off the boy and were about three kilometres from the school in Soi Pornpranimit 21 in tambon Nong Prue when a motorcycle cut in front of the car and forced it to stop. A man then got into the SUV and it drove off. His wife and bother had not been seen since.
Later, a man called Mr Ma by telephone, using the WeChat app, demanding 1 million Chinese Yuan, about 4.7 million baht, for the pair's release.
About 8pm, Nong Prue police found the empty Nissan Terra abandoned in scrub beside the Pattaya-Bangkok motorway near Moo 3 village in tambon Pong, Bang Lamung district.
Witnesses said it had been there since about 9.30am.
When questioned further, Mr Ma admitted having transfered 200,000 yuan in cryptocurrency from a crypto wallet to the professed abductor, saying he feared for the safety of his wife and brother.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Ma said he and members of his family came to Thailand in May 2022. He opened a restaurant in North Pattaya, but the business was shut down shortly afterward.
He said the family was now living in a rented house costing 55,000 baht per month, but stopped short of giving information about his other businesses or partners.
Police were still looking to the missing pair.