On 13 July, Thai police said they had possibly found the dismembered remains of a Chinese TikTok influencer who had been missing since the beginning of the month.
The remains were discovered in a remote location in Chachoengsao around 50km east of Bangkok. Police are currently doing DNA tests on the remains to confirm whether or not they belong to the missing influencer.
The 38-year-old influencer, Yan Ruimin, was last spotted on 1 July. She entered Thailand from Malaysia on 26 June. Police say she had visited Thailand ten times previously.
Ms Yan Ruimin was in Pattaya from 28-29 June when she went to the police station to report an accident. She then proceeded to Bangkok on 30 June where she stayed at a hotel.
Source: ThaiPBS
The following day on 1 July, she was spotted on CCTV getting off a Grab ride near Times Square Building Mall in downtown Bangkok. Once there, she waited a while before being picked up by a Chinese man driving a white rental car. The man has been identified as 32-year-old Ma Qingyan by police.
He had entered the country from Singapore on 30 June.
According to Thairath, the man had visited Thailand six times prior. This, along with Ms Yan’s frequent visits to Thailand, led police to believe that the two knew each other.
After Mr Ma Qingyan had picked up Ms Yan, the two made their way to an accommodation on Sukhumvit Soi 16.
On the same day at around 11pm Thai time, a friend of Ms Yan called the police to report her missing after they had been unable to reach her on WeChat. The friend also noted that her phone was still switched on.
According to One News, security footage revealed that Mr Ma Qingyan left the accommodation alone on the night of 1 July. From there, he drove to Chachoengsao, making 12 stops along the way.
Source: Thairath
The 12th stop, where the remains were found, was a deserted area with a swamp nearby. At this stop, Mr Ma Qingyan left the vehicle for over an hour before returning.
From there, he made his way back to Bangkok where he stayed at a separate location in Srinagarindra before returning the rental.
According to Thairath, police forensics teams have found traces of blood in both the Srinagarindra residence and the rental car.
Blood was found around a washing basin in the restroom in the residence. In the rental car, blood was detected in the driver’s seat, backseat, on the door, as well as on the hood.
The blood has been collected for DNA testing to see if they match the victim.
Thairath reports that Ms Yan’s brother-in-law also received a ransom call asking for 1 million yuan, equivalent to around S$185K. He informed Ms Yan’s family, who then flew to Thailand and got in touch with authorities here.
Thai police are currently working with the Chinese embassy and Thai immigration to investigate the case further.
While seeking to find Mr Ma Qingyan, police discovered that he had left the country for Hong Kong. Following that, he made his way to Macau.
Coincidentally, between 4-6 July, several payments were made in Macau using Ms Yan’s WeChat account, although she was never reported to have left Thailand.
The case comes on the back of a string of kidnappings in Thailand and the Philippines.
Also Read: 15-year-old girl missing for 5 days, also went missing last year
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Featured image adapted from ThaiPBS and Thairath.
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