Thai police have launched a fact-finding investigation into the disappearance of two more Chinese nationals—a male model and a woman—after their relatives sought help.
Police General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, inspector-general with the Royal Thai Police Office (RTPO), said foreign media had reported the disappearance of Chinese model Yang Zeqi, who went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border.
The case is similar to that of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who went missing last week in the same area and was trafficked to a scam center in Myawaddy, Karen State.
Wang, 31, also known by his stage name Xing Xing, safely returned to Thailand.
Thatchai said Yang’s relatives posted about his disappearance on social media and sought help. Police were launching an investigation, he said.
Before he went missing, the inspector-general said, Yang received a message on WeChat that said he had passed an audition for a movie. He boarded flight VZ 3719 from Beijing on Dec. 20 to Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 6.16 a.m. He took a car from the airport and later switched to another vehicle as arranged by a “film crew team”, which took him to the border. On Dec. 21, he sent a message to a friend saying he felt “sad”.
On Dec. 29, he made a video call to his mother while wearing black and sitting on a chair with his hands on a table. Despite saying he was safe, he had injuries to his eyes. His phone was then turned off.
After receiving the video call, relatives immediately filed a complaint with Chinese police and contacted the Chinese embassies in Thailand and Myanmar to seek help.
Authorities were also looking for a Chinese woman identified as Wu Jiaqi, 21, after her father Wu Weidong sought help from Pol. General Kitrat Phanphet, the Thai national police chief.
After Wu arrived in Thailand on Jan. 6, friends and family were unable to contact her. A complaint was filed with police at Suvarnabhumi airport on Jan 8.
Thatchai said police were examining closed-circuit television cameras along the route from the airport and other spots for clues as to her whereabouts.
This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.
