After the news of Chinese actor Wang Xing going missing in Thailand went viral, more reports of missing Chinese nationals have surfaced.
Among those missing are a model, an actor and a recent college graduate whose disappearances bore similarities to Wang’s case.
One of those missing is model Yang Zeqi (杨泽琪).
Source: Weibo
On Thursday (9 Jan), a netizen who identified himself as Yang’s cousin posted on Weibo, saying he has been uncontactable since 21 Dec.
He received an audition notice for an acting job in Thailand on 8 Dec, according to the post.
Source: Weibo
After being told he’d passed the audition he boarded flight VZ3719 on 20 Dec from Beijing to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Source: Weibo
He was picked up at the airport by a car, but later told a chat group that he had switched cars.
Source: Weibo
He was then taken near the border with Myanmar.
Source: Weibo
However, they lost contact with him somewhere near the border on 21 Dec, his cousin said.
His circumstances would become more mysterious on 29 Dec, when Yang made a video call to his mother after being uncontactable for more than a week.
During the six-minute call, he wore black and was sitting on a stool with his hands on a table. He also sported visible bruises and appeared to be “not right”.
Source: Weibo
The video call was then cut off.
Following the call, Yang’s father made a report with the Chinese police.
As of Friday (10 Jan), he had flown to Thailand — his first overseas trip — to look for his son.
Source: Weibo
He told the media that he was a former soldier and was “not afraid of death and hardship”, but this time he’s “really afraid” that he might never see his son again.
Another person whose whereabouts are uncertain is Chinese actor He Junmin (何俊旻).
Source: Weibo
His disappearance was flagged by fellow actor Shao Yifan, who said He had become uncontactable after flying to Bangkok on 3 Jan.
Source: Weibo
Like Wang and Yang, he had similarly received an audition notice to film a show in Thailand, which was named Narcotics Policewomen (缉毒女警).
Source: Weibo
Concerned for his well-being, friends reached out to him. Although he claimed that he was safe, he sent over a photo of the alleged film set that looked fake because people were wearing thick coats in Thailand’s tropical weather.
Source: Weibo
It was also noticed that the photo was sent by another member of their group chat in December.
Later, however, Shao deleted her post, saying she had managed to make a video call with He and he seemed “okay” with his hair still intact.
Although she admitted that it seemed a little “weird”, she claimed he was in still China and pulling a prank.
Netizens, however, were sceptical, saying he seemed “flustered” during the video call, as if he was being watched.
The third person who went missing is 21-year-old Wu Jiaqi (吴佳琪), who flew to Thailand on 5 Jan.
Source: Weibo
Unlike the others, Ms Wu went to Thailand on holiday and is not in the entertainment industry.
The recent college graduate was making her first trip abroad with a friend she had known for less than a month whom her family doesn’t know, reported Thai news outlet Khaosod English.
More concerning was the fact that she’d told her mother she was travelling only on the same night that she flew off.
Source: Weibo
When warned against going to Myanmar, she said she wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t go to Myanmar.
After losing contact with her on 6 Jan, her father flew to Thailand to look for her the next day.
Source: Weibo
After arriving, Mr Wu pleaded for help locating his daughter, noting that she has never shown any interest in acting.
Source: Weibo
According to police investigations, Ms Wu was picked up by a white Toyota Alpha van and transferred to a hotel in the Laikabang district instead of the hotel she told her mother she was staying in.
CCTV footage showed her checking in at 5am but checking out just hours later at 9am. The police are attempting to track her down using CCTV footage but their efforts have been made more difficult as some cameras were not working.
Royal Thai Police Office Inspector-General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot told the Bangkok Post that the police were investigating the disappearances of Yang and Wu.
They were doing this by examining CCTV cameras en route from the airport and other spots for clues.
While Wang has been safely rescued, he told police that there were about 50 other people in one of the buildings he was detained in.
All of them had their heads shaved, like him.
Source: Weibo
After his case made the news, many Chinese whose relatives are missing have banded together to compile information, believing that their loved ones are potentially human-trafficking victims in Myanmar.
Also read: 4 S’porean Trafficking Victims Reportedly Rescued In Philippines Raid, MFA Providing Assistance
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