KAMPHAENG PHET, Thailand – Police rescued a Chinese woman who said she was abducted from a Bangkok hotel, tied with cable ties and forced into a sedan allegedly bound for Mae Sot, in a dramatic late-night incident in Kamphaeng Phet on August 23. The woman was reportedly taken from a hotel in Bangkok by four Thai men in a black Nissan Teana. Police suspect the incident may be linked to a human-trafficking network connected to scam operations along the Myanmar border, although the investigation is still ongoing.
During the journey, the suspects allegedly drove through Kamphaeng Phet and attempted to flee a police checkpoint. The woman managed to escape from the moving vehicle and was left on Ratchadamnoen Road in the city before running to a nearby business and asking for help. Police from Muang Kamphaeng Phet Police Station immediately responded and took her to Kamphaeng Phet Hospital for medical treatment. She was later brought to the police station with the assistance of tourist police and a Chinese interpreter.
Police then pursued the suspects’ vehicle after it allegedly sped through a checkpoint near the Chula kiosk. Officers eventually caught up with the car in Lan Dok Mai subdistrict, where the vehicle’s tyre was reportedly disabled after police fired at it to stop the fleeing suspects. Two men were arrested at the scene. They were identified as Somkiat, 41, and Kittiphon, 24, both reportedly from Mae Sot district in Tak province. Two other suspects escaped into nearby woodland, although police said they had identified the men and were continuing the search. The Chinese woman told police that she had arrived in Thailand before travelling onward to Singapore. After landing, she checked into a hotel in Bangkok and contacted a person she believed was a tour organizer. She had communicated with the person only by telephone and had never met them in person.
On August 23, a sedan arrived at the hotel to pick her up. After leaving the hotel, the driver stopped to collect three other men. The woman said she soon realized she had been deceived and tried to resist, but the men allegedly took her phone, restrained her hands with cable ties and struck her in the mouth with an elbow.
When the vehicle reached Kamphaeng Phet, she saw police conducting a checkpoint and began shouting for help. The driver allegedly accelerated away from the checkpoint. The woman then used her strength to open the car door and escape, eventually reaching a nearby business where she sought assistance. Police are now questioning the two arrested suspects and investigating whether others were involved.
Kittiphon, who allegedly drove the car, reportedly told investigators that Somkiat had hired him for 10,000 baht to drive to Bangkok and pick up the Chinese woman. He said that after leaving the hotel, they stopped to collect Somkiat and two other men. According to his account, once all five people were inside the car, two men sitting in the rear allegedly grabbed the woman’s phone and tied her hands. Kittiphon said he asked what was happening but was told simply to continue driving. Police said the investigation is focused on identifying the full network behind the alleged abduction and determining the suspects’ intended destination and motive.
