SINGAPORE: The suspect in the alleged kidnapping and killing of a Chinese TikToker in Thailand has reportedly been arrested in Macao.
A dismembered body was found outside Bangkok on Saturday (Jul 13). Thai police have said the remains are likely those of 38-year-old TikTok personality Yan Ruimin, who went missing about two weeks ago.
Investigators are coordinating with forensic officers to carry out DNA tests of the body parts and to formally confirm the identity, according to Thai news outlet Bangkok Post.
The alleged suspect in the case is a 34-year-old man surnamed Ma, who holds a Chinese passport and is unemployed, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. The suspect was previously identified by Thai media as a 32-year-old Chinese man called Ma Qingyan.
According to Chinese news reports, Ma was arrested in Macao on Jul 10 for a separate incident.
He had attempted to pawn a fake watch at a shop, but the employee called the police upon realising it was a counterfeit.
Ma was arrested at Taipa Ferry Terminal while trying to flee to Hong Kong. Authorities did not specify when he was nabbed.
During investigations, Macao police were alerted by mainland Chinese authorities that the suspect in the murder and dismemberment of a Chinese tourist could be hiding in the city.
They subsequently discovered that the man’s identity was a match. Macao police have since transferred the case to the Chinese mainland authorities for further investigation.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Ms Yan arrived in Thailand from Malaysia on Jun 26. She was reported missing on Jul 12 by a friend who last heard from her on Jun 30, according to the Thai Examiner.
A day later on Jul 13, Thai police forensic teams recovered a badly decomposed and dismembered body in Chachoengsao, some 50km east of Bangkok.
The body was found near a deserted site near a housing estate in Tambon Bang Phra of Muang district in the eastern province.
Local media reported the suspect as Ma Qingyan, who had entered Thailand from Singapore on Jun 30. Ma was believed to have met Ms Yan in Bangkok on Jul 1, the day she was thought to have been murdered.
Police evidence referenced in local media suggested the suspect later drove a rental car out of the city, stopping 12 times along the way.
His final stop, near the centre of Chachoengsao, is where he is believed to have stayed for around an hour burning documents and other debris including a suitcase believed to be Ms Yan’s. The victim’s body was found about 1km away.
Ma returned the rental car on Jul 3 and left the country shortly after for Hong Kong, followed by Macao.
Between Jul 4 and Jul 6, Ms Yan’s WeChat Pay account made several purchases in Macao, although there was no record of her leaving Thailand, regional media reported.
Ms Yan was active on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu under the name “Ruiming”, where she was listed as being from Shenzhen and had around 11,000 followers.
Her last post on Xiaohongshu was of her partying in Macao in May.
The incident has resurfaced a number of recent tourist kidnappings in Thailand and the Philippines.
Late last month, a Chinese national and a Chinese-American reportedly travelling together on a business trip in the Philippines were kidnapped and killed.
In April, a Chinese student studying in Australia was lured to Thailand by a kidnapping gang and rescued by Thai police, following a ransom of 8 million yuan.
