Police reported on Friday that two members of a Japanese gang suspected of murdering a compatriot and dismembering his body in Nonthaburi province last month have fled to a neighboring country, with Laos being identified as their destination, according to a police source.
Provincial Police Region 1 Commissioner, Pol Lt Gen Chirasan Kaeosaengake, informed reporters that Thailand has reached out to the neighboring country for cooperation in locating the two suspects, although he refrained from naming it. However, a police source revealed that the suspects had escaped to Laos.
Arrest warrants were issued earlier this week for Takuya Kato, 49, and Hiroto Suzuki, 27, on charges of murdering fellow gang member Ryosuke Kabashima, 47, in Nonthaburi. The gang reportedly operated a phone scam targeting Japanese citizens in their home country, as per local media reports.
Kritsakorn Jaiphitak, apprehended on Tuesday, admitted to police that he was hired to drive the three Japanese men to a warehouse in Nonthaburi. He recounted to investigators that a quarrel broke out among the three, resulting in one being shot from the rear seat while seated next to the driver. Jaiphitak stated that the two Japanese suspects then dismembered the victim’s body and directed him to dispose of plastic bags containing the remains in Nonthaburi, according to police statements.
Last week, various body parts were discovered in plastic bags discarded in a wasteland area, while earlier this week, the victim’s skull, with bullet holes, was found in the province.
