2 foreigners arrested for murder of Taiwanese man, 1 foreigner still at large

Thai police arrested two foreigners, a Burmese and a Cameronian, in connection with the murder of a Taiwanese man. Another foreigner, reportedly a European man, remains at large. A Thai woman was accused of planning the entire murder.

Officers from Bangna Police Station gave an update to the media this afternoon on the investigation into the death of 47 year old Taiwanese man Chu Chian-shen. The officers reported that CCTV cameras led them to the successful arrest of two foreign suspects today, November 17.

The two suspects are identified as a 21 year old Burmese man named Zwe Lin Pyae and a 40 year old Cameronian man named John Agbor.

CCTV footage showed Zwe, a Burmese national, entering Chu’s room on the sixth floor, as well as room number 507 on the fifth floor. Officers located and arrested Zwe at his condominium on Ratchaprarop Road in the Ratchathewi district of Bangkok.

Zwe revealed the identity of the Cameroonian man, Agbor, and officers arrested him in the Sri Nakarin area of Bangkok.

Suspect admits robbery but not murder

Zwe claimed that he was looking for a job online and came across a job advertisement posted by a Thai woman. The job required him to stalk a Taiwanese man, take his picture and report the information to the woman.

Interested in the job, Zwe met the woman at a coffee shop in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district to learn more about the job details. He was told to work with two other foreigners, one a Cameronian and the other a European to steal money and assets from the Taiwanese man.

Zwe said he and Agbor booked a room on the fifth floor to keep an eye on Chu. On the day of the incident, Zwe said he and Agbor broke into Chu’s room. He tied Chu up and searched for assets while the Agbor was on the lookout.

They found no cash and fled the scene with the laptop and a mobile phone. Zwe insisted that Chu was not dead when they left.

Agbor denied involvement in the murder. He said he was just an ordinary language teacher.

Another foreign suspect, whose nationality has not yet been identified, remains at large. Officers released his picture to the public and urged anyone who had seen the foreign man to report his whereabouts to police on the non-emergency number 191.

Following the mention of the Thai woman the officers said they were unable to reveal the details about the mentioned woman until they had enough evidence.

UPDATE: 3 foreign men under suspicion in murder of Taiwanese man in Bangkok hotel

Police revealed three foreign men are under suspicion in the murder of a Taiwanese man at the Niran Grand Hotel in the Udomsuk neighbourhood of Bangkok.

Bangna Police Station officers provided details after an investigation into the death of the 47 year old Taiwanese man, Chu Chiang-shen last night.

Deputy Police Inspector Kongphon Wongchan reported that Chu had several head wounds, including a serious cut near his right eyebrow. The inspector suspects that Chu had been hit by a hard object. His nose and neck were taped shut while his arms and legs were bound with plastic rope.

His room on the sixth floor of the hotel showed signs of a search and struggle. His mobile phone, laptop and other valuables were missing. Officers found two bags and two safes in the room. The officers did not reveal what they found in the bags and safes but they did reveal that there were bloody fingerprints on them.

Chu arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand at around 1am on November 14 and checked into the hotel at around 12.43pm that day.

The hotel employee told police that Chu told him he was travelling to Thailand for business. Chu said he was in the property business with his friend. He bought old buildings and renovated them for other businessmen to buy or rent. However, his business appeared to be unsuccessful as he told the employee that his friend deceived him.

Thailand travels

Chu also invited the hotel employee to travel to Taiwan and said he could take care of him if he had a chance to visit the country.

Officers revealed that Chu had travelled to Thailand four times prior to his murder. Each time, Chu stayed in Thailand for only a few days before returning to Taiwan. Further investigation would be carried out to determine whether Chu had come to Thailand for business or other purposes.

Police revealed Chu had a criminal history. He was previously charged with fraud and human trafficking in Taiwan and had been punished per his criminal record.

It has not yet been confirmed that Chu’s previous crimes were related to his murder.

Metropolitan Police Bureau Commander Teeradate Thammasutee visited Bangna Police Station to investigate the case. He said officers had checked CCTV cameras inside the hotel and nearby and found footage of three suspicious foreigners.

On November 14, two Thai women visited Chu in his hotel room and questioned the two women about their relationship with Chu. Investigating officers found nothing suspicious in Chu’s relationship with the women.

Asian man

On November 16, after midnight, an Asian man was seen entering Chu’s room while two black men appeared in the lift at the same time. No one visited Chu after that, and his dead body was found in the morning.

Matichon reported that police detained one of the suspicious black men last night and that he was being questioned at Bangna Police Station.

More details on the investigation into the case will be updated soon.

ORIGINAL STORY: Thai police probe mysterious murder of Taiwanese man at Bangkok hotel

Thai police are investigating the murder of a Taiwanese man found tied and bound in the Niran Grand Hotel in the Udomsuk neighbourhood of Bangkok today, November 16.

The tragic discovery of the Taiwanese man was made at the hotel on Soi Udomsuk 17, also known as Soi Sukhumvit 103, in Bangkok’s Bang Na district. An employee found the body of a 47 year old Taiwanese man, Chu Chiang-shen, in room number 618 on the sixth floor of the hotel.

The employee reported the death to officers at Bang Na Police Station, who rushed to the scene to investigate. According to the Thai police, Chu was lying face down on the floor near the bed. His legs and arms were tied behind his back and there was a lot of blood covering his head.

From the wounds on his body, officers suspect that the Taiwanese man had been tortured to death by the culprit.

The disarray within the room hinted at a frantic search yet the Thai police have not yet revealed whether Chu’s assets had been stolen or not.

The hotel employee revealed that Chu came to the hotel alone and checked in at 12.43pm on Tuesday, November 14. The employee did not reveal whether he had seen Chu have any visitors or friends in his room prior to the incident.

Police are now investigating the room and the cause of the Taiwanese man’s murder. More details on the case will be updated later.

Another distressing discovery unfolded in Phuket just two weeks ago when a maid stumbled upon the body of a foreign man in a hotel room. The man had four stab wounds to his neck but it was not clear whether he had injured himself or been stabbed to death.

A substance similar to crystal meth was found in his room. The foreign man reportedly consumed a lot of alcohol and showed signs of stress before he was found dead. However, the development of the case had not yet been reported by the police.

Photo via Nation TV