Bangkok police hunt for Thai woman behind Taiwanese man’s murder
Bangkok police are pursuing an arrest warrant for a Thai woman alleged to have orchestrated the killing of a 48 year old Taiwanese man, Chu Chiang Shen, in the city. Additionally, they are liaising with Interpol in an attempt to apprehend another suspect hailing from Vanuatu who is believed to have left the country.
Following the detention of two male suspects, one from Cameroon and the other from Myanmar, late last week, investigators from the Bang Na station presented their case to Phra Khanong Criminal Court yesterday. The aim was to secure permission to hold the suspects, 40 year old John Agbor from Cameroon and 21 year old Zwe Lin Pyae from Myanmar for 12 days to allow for a thorough investigation.
Given the gravity of the crime, the officers objected to bail. Under Thai law, suspects can be held for seven 12-day periods, totalling 84 days, before charges must be laid or the suspects released.
The suspects were apprehended on Srinakarin Road in Bangkok late last week on suspicion of carrying out the murder at a hotel in the Bang Na district. The victim’s body was discovered on the sixth floor of the Niran Grand Hotel on Udomsuk Soi 17, off Sukhumvit 103 (Udomsuk) Road, early last week. Hotel staff located the body following a report by a friend of the victim who was unable to reach him by phone, reported Bangkok Post.
According to Police Major General Theeradet Thamsuthee, investigation chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the suspects, in conjunction with another unidentified European man who remains at large, were led to believe that the victim was wealthy and therefore targeted him. The information was reportedly provided by the Thai woman who ordered the attack.
To support their request for an arrest warrant for the Thai woman, police presented evidence to the court yesterday. As for the fourth suspect, the individual is said to hold Vanuatu citizenship and is believed to have fled Thailand. Efforts are being coordinated with Interpol to secure his arrest.
However, the wife of John Agbor maintains her husband’s innocence, stating that he had been long-time friends with the victim and was in no way involved in his murder.
