Thai authorities in Tak have confirmed that Chinese actor Wang Xing, aka Xingxing, has been missing since crossing the border into Myanmar and that Myanmar authorities are searching for him.
However, a police spokesman said on Tuesday there is no evidence at this time suggesting he was forced to go to Myanmar. His trip appeared to be voluntary.
A security source in Tak said on Tuesday that Thai officials had asked all authorities in Myanmar to help in the search for the actor who, according to CCTV footage, likely crossed the border from Ban Mae Kon Ken in tambon Mahawan of Mae Sot district in Tak.
The Chinese embassy in Bangkok said it and the Chinese consulate-general in Chiang Mai province received a report from the actor’s family about his disappearance and they were doing their best to locate him.
The 31-year-old actor reportedly left Shanghai Pudong airport and landed at Suvarnabhumi airport outside Bangkok about 3am last Friday, after being invited to attend an audition.
From the airport, he travelled to Mae Sot district of Tak via Chai Nat and Kamphaeng Phet provinces. He was last seen near the border in Mae Sot about 10.10am on Friday.
Police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Archayon Krathong said on Tuesday that initial iniquiries revealed the actor arrived in Thailand alone and carrying only a rucksack.
He travelled from Suvarnabhumi airport directly to Tak with a chauffeur police regard as the sole witness in the case, the spokesman said. There was no evidence that Wang was coerced or assaulted, or was a human trafficking victim, he said.
Police did not yet know whether the actor left for Myanmar through an official border crossing or not, he said.
“The top priority now is to locate him,” Pol Lt Gen Archayon said.Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabut, inspector-general of the Royal Thai Police Office, was in Tak with a team to follow up the case, the spokesman said.