A famous Thai actor (currently still unnamed), who was arrested for potentially kidnapping a businessman for a Bitcoin ransom, will be brought in for questioning by the authorities.
After the 33-year-old businessman, Mark Cheng, was successfully able to escape from his abductors he immediately reported the event to local law enforcement agencies.
According to the filed report, Cheng was asked to pay the approximately $740K ransom in Bitcoin to the kidnappers, among which was also a Singaporean national. Kim, the pseudonym used in the case for the Singaporean, has been detained and is currently under investigation along with three other suspects involved in the case.
The current commissioner of Provincial Police Region 2, Police Lt General Montri Yimyaem, commented that the Thai actor was involved in the kidnapping of the victim and would be held down for questioning. Cheng has stated that he had met Kim recently and that he was tortured, and the abductors made demands on completing the transaction of ransom through cryptocurrency, more specifically Bitcoin.
So far, the authorities in Thailand have been able to crack down on several locations, including the house that belongs to suspects arrested and have been able to locate equipment and materials that might have been used in the crime scene. Cheng reported to the authorities that the captors used a pickup truck to conduct the crime. General Yimyaem added that the police have been trying to figure out if the kidnapping was triggered by a business conflict.
The Commander of Chachoengsao Provincial Police, Police Major General Chakrit Sawatdi, has been investigating the Bitcoin transaction of the ransom, as reported by Cheng.
Forced to Pay in Cryptocurrency
According to the victim, he and Kim traveled to Thailand last week and after reaching Suvarnabhumi airport, they ordered a taxi and traveled to a filling station in Chachoengsao’s Muang district. Cheng told the authorities that a pickup truck had already been waiting there for both of them.
Cheng recounted that he was able to recognize the vehicle from his meet-ups with a Thai actor whom he had built a prior acquaintance a couple of times before over drinks. Once Cheng was blindfolded, he was driven to an isolated place where he was assaulted and ordered to pay the crypto ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin.
Cheng made a transaction of $1 million Singaporean dollars in Bitcoin, roughly $742,000, and thereafter managed to escape the scene. Cheng was able to seek help from passing vehicles and was immediately taken to the police station, where he realized he had been taken to Nakhon Nayok’s Ongkharak district.
