A Chinese man wanted for the murder of the Chinese TikTok influencer Yan Ruimin, whose body was found dumped in Chachoengsao on Saturday, has been arrested in Hong Kong, Thai police said on Thursday.
Hong Kong police arrested Ma Qinyan after Thai authorities sought help from Interpol, said Pol Maj Gen Noppasil Poolsawat, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok.
Mr Ma was subsequently sent to the mainland, where Chinese authorities have begun liaising with Thai police. The police Foreign Affairs Division is handling the case according to the extradition treaty between the two countries, said Pol Maj Gen Noppasil.
A DNA test on Wednesday confirmed that the body found in Chachoengsao on July 13 was that of Yan, said Pol Col Thammasak Saraboon, commander of the Bang Rak police station in Bangkok.
The Institute of Forensic Medicine compared the DNA sample from the body with one given by the missing woman’s father and they matched, he said.
Police subsequently obtained a warrant from the Bangkok South Criminal Court for the arrest of Mr Ma on charges of murder and concealment of a body. An international arrest warrant was also sought.
Mr Ma appeared in CCTV video on July 1 in Bangkok as the last person seen with Yan, 38. He was later seen in a deserted area of tambon Bang Phra in Muang district of Chachoengsao early on July 3. The body was found there 11 days later.
Authorities began the search after Chinese national Cai Boxuan told police at the Bang Rak station on July 12 that his friend Yan was missing.
Yan was active on TikTok as well as Xiaohongshu, often referred to as the Chinese version of Instagram, with about 11,000 followers.
The last time Mr Cai heard from her was on June 30, when she told him that she was planning to go to Phuket on July 2.
According to earlier reports, Mr Ma had rented a car in Bangkok on June 30.
On July 1, Yan was seen getting into the car at Times Square near Sukhumvit Soi 12. Security camera video showed the car heading to Sukhumvit Soi 16. The following day, the car left the Sukhumvit 16 address and travelled to Chon Buri.
Around 2am on July 3, the car appeared in Chachoengsao before Yan’s telephone signal went dead in a public park near Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan in Muang district.
Mr Ma checked out of his Bangkok hotel later that day and flew to Hong Kong.
Police examined video from cameras along the route to Chachoengsao, focusing on locations where the rental car had stopped.
A check of the car’s GPS showed that it travelled to a fish farm in Muang district.
At one location, police found an item of burned luggage believed to have belonged to the missing woman. The search eventually led them to the site where they found the body parts.
Murder suspect Ma Qinyan was the last person seen with Yan Ruimin, who went missing on July 2. Her body was found 11 days later. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)