Police hunt for gang member involved in Nontha Buri kidnapping

An arrest warrant is out for a man in the Greater Bangkok province of Nontha Buri for the alleged kidnapping of a 16 year old boy in broad daylight. Police believe the kidnapper is a gang member and suspect that the boy, who was later dumped on the side of the road in serious condition, is involved in the gang as well.

The grandfather of the 16 year old kidnapping victim says the boy recently bought two new motorcycles. He told his family he paid for them with money won from gambling. But police believe the boy had opened a bank account in his name and handed his ATM card over to the gang to use the account to hide or launder money.

One day the boy noticed a large amount had been deposited into the account and got greedy. Police believe he called the bank to cancel the ATM card and then went and withdrew the gang’s money from his account and went on a personal spending spree.

It is suspected the gang found out and took vengeance by kidnapping him. Witnesses report that two cars with a group of six or seven men showed up at the motorbike repair shop in Pak Kret where the boy worked on Friday. Several approached him and then forced him at gunpoint to get into one of the cars.

A man in the repair shop had a gun and fired a warning shot in the air in an attempt to rattle the kidnappers. They returned fire as they climbed back into their cars before speeding away with the boy. Police have identified at least one man from the group and have issued an arrest warrant for charges of attempted murder, coercion, illegally carrying a firearm in public and illegal detention for the kidnapping.

Police would later find the boy on the side of the road in the Lat Krabang district of Bangkok that same day, severely beaten and unconscious. He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Now, three days later, he remains on a ventilator in the hospital.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World