Police are hunting for five suspects who owned mule accounts associated with a scam gang linked to a family tragedy in Samut Prakan, where a man despondent over debts killed his wife and two sons and then slashed his own throat.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has found evidence of transactions made by Wipaporn Racha, the 44-year-old wife of Sanit Dokmai, who committed the killings, to eight accounts linked to the five suspects.
The money was withdrawn and transferred to a country abroad, Pol Gen Sompong Chingduang, a special adviser to the Royal Thai Police, said on Tuesday.
Police are reviewing security video to identify the suspects who withdrew the money and coordinating with banks to look into the transaction routes, he added.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the five suspects who opened the mule accounts.
The tragedy unfolded at the family’s three-storey townhouse on a road behind Wat Nam Daeng in tambon Bang Kaeo of Bang Phli district and was reported to local police at about 1am on Monday.
Police found the bodies of two boys, aged 9 and 13, and their mother, who had deep neck and body wounds. Mr Sanit, 41, had a deep slash across his neck and wrist but survived and was taken to hospital.
Pol Lt Col Rangsan Kamsuk, acting superintendent of the Bang Kaeo Police, said the tragic chain of events began when Mr Sanit was asked by his employer to act as a guarantor for him as he wanted to refinance his car. The employer did not repay the loan and filed for bankruptcy.
A lawsuit was then filed against Mr Sanit, who had to repay around 600,000 baht as the guarantor or risk losing his house.
He thought he could clear the debt if he could get a small loan. His wife wanted to help, so she looked for a personal loan on social media and became a victim of a scam gang.
Police said she wanted a loan of about 100,000 baht but was tricked by scammers and ended up borrowing a total of 1.7 million baht from colleagues and other sources and transferred the money to the fraudsters.
Later, creditors were demanding repayment from his family every day. The damage from the scam could have been the last straw leading to the tragedy, said police.