The father of a Chinese male model who went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border more than two weeks ago has sought help from Thailand’s police chief to find his son.
Lawyer Ratchaphon Sirisakhon on Thursday took the father of Yang Zeqi to petition Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch to help find his son after he arrived in Thailand last month and later disappeared.
The case appears very similar to the one involving Wang Xing, a Chinese actor who was trafficked to a scam centre in Myawaddy, where he spent four days before being brought back to Thailand uninjured but with his head shaved.
The huge publicity the Wang case attracted in China has put the Thai government into damage-control mode, as there are signs that some Chinese tourists are already cancelling visits because of safety concerns.
The disappearance of Yang Zeqi has also been widely reported in foreign media, said Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, an inspector-general with the Royal Thai Police.
Mr Ratchaphon said Yang made a video call to his mother via WeChat on Dec 29 and he looked worried and frightened.
He was seen wearing black and sitting on a chair with his hands on a table. His father said he noticed his son had injuries to his eye and was not holding a mobile phone. His father believed someone might have held it while Yang was making the video call.
During the conservation, his son did not seek any help or send any sign. His father believed someone might have been keeping a close watch on Yang as he was being detained.
His family earlier filed a complaint with the police Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division on Jan 10. However, there has been no progress so far.
Lawyer Ratchaphon Sirisakhon (centre) takes the father (left) of missing Chinese model Yang Zeqi to petition national police chief Kittharath Punpetch to help find his son, who arrived in Thailand last month and later disappeared near the Myanmar border. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)
Yang’s last known location, based on messages sent to his girlfriend and other friends, showed that he was in Phop Phra or Mae Sot district of Tak. There were no further updates on his social media and it is not known whether he crossed the Moei River to Myanmar.
Mr Ratchaphon said he believed there were Thai, Chinese and Myanmar nationals involved in the disappearance of the Chinese model.
He said he had evidence showing that two vehicles were used to transport Yang. One picked him up at Suvarnabhumi airport and he was later put into a second vehicle. The lawyer said he has photos of the licence plates.