Thai stuntman kidnapped in drug smuggling ring in Myanmar
The mother of a famous Thai stuntman coach has appealed to the police to bring her kidnapped son home from Myanmar after he got caught up in a drug smuggling ring.
Thai stuntman trainer, Ramai “Dan” Moripunt, is locked up in a Burmese prison after being accused of drug trafficking with two Thai friends.
The 40 year old travelled from Laos to Myanmar on January 4, with one friend named Chai, from Tachileik town in the Shan State of Myanmar, and another one called A, who lived in Laos, on the pretence of meeting a Burmese movie investor.
Dan arrived at the Wa state with his two friends after 8 hours of travelling and waited for an investor that did not show up. The Thai stuntman trainer was about to leave for home but was persuaded to stay longer as his friends tried to set up another investor. But during the waiting time, they all got arrested by the Burmese army, accused of swindling 24 million baht from the army’s leader to buy drugs. They were subsequently imprisoned in jail at Wa Self-Administered Division by the United Wa State Army.
Dan managed to alert his mother to his troubled plight via the LINE application, protesting his innocence, claiming it was his two friends involved in the drug smuggling scam, and he didn’t know they were involved in any criminal activity.
He informed his mother he was chained up by the legs and forced to work from 5am until night time every day. Dan said he had to share a small amount of rice and boiled vegetables with 10-20 prisoners every day and is starving. He informed his mother he is exhausted by a combination of hard labour, little food, and no sleep at night because rats were running over him. Dan added he can’t risk trying to escape because he is scared of being shot.
He said another Thai man, a member of his filming team, was captured too, imprisoned in another house for 20 days before being released.
Dan said he is grateful to the kind Wa people who are helping him but admits he is afraid he will get killed.
Dan’s letter and a picture of him in handcuffs on the floor by a Burmese soldier were posted on a Facebook page, เจบีแฟมิลี่ ชาแนล which means JB Family Channel. The Facebook page admin claims he is a friend of Dan
Yesterday, Dan’s mother, Kam, handed a letter to the Commissioner of Royal Thai Police, Suwat Kangyodsuk, and the Assistant Commissioner of Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, asking for help and pleaded his innocence, adding her son was lured by friends who were involved in drug trafficking.
Reports emerged in the media yesterday that Dan is expected to be moved to a prison in a Burmese town about 150 kilometres parallel with the Fang district of Chiang Mai province in the north of Thailand.
The 3rd Army Region of the Royal Thai Army last night shed more light on the case and said that the Thailand and Myanmar Township Border Committee had coordinated with Myanmar to rescue the man.
