BANGKOK: Thai police have revealed that Chinese nationals were behind the disappearance of Chinese actor Xingxing, who was found by authorities in Myanmar on Tuesday (Jan 7) and was safely transported to Bangkok.
The actor, whose real name is Wang Xing, was reported missing after arriving in Tak’s Mae Sot district for a shoot last Friday. His girlfriend, identified as Jiajia, contacted several agencies in Thailand and China to ask for help.
In a press conference on Tuesday evening, Pol General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, national police inspector-general, said that Xingxing arrived at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport that evening. He was accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, he added.
Thatchai said the actor confirmed that he was safe and unharmed, and thanked Thai people for the assistance.
The inspector-general added that the initial investigation revealed that a Chinese gang scammed Xingxing through the WeChat application, and lured him to a film shoot in a third country arriving via Thailand.
Thatchai said other than a Thai taxi driver who was hired to drive the group to Tak province, no Thai nationals were found to have been involved in the gang’s operation.
He added that evidence showed that Xingxing arrived in Thailand voluntarily and passed three immigration checkpoints in Thailand by showing his passport. He appeared to be alone at all three checkpoints, he said.
Thatchai denied rumours that the Chinese actor was hired by Thai entertainment company GMM Grammy.
“The scammers told the victim that a major Thai entertainment company wanted to hire him and asked him to come to Thailand,” he said.
“They picked him up at Suvarnabhumi Airport in a taxi heading to Mae Sot, Tak, where he was taken across the border to Myanmar.”
Thatchai added that police believe the scammers are part of a call centre gang, as the victim revealed that they trained him to use a chat programme to scam victims in China for two days. - The Nation/ANN
