A man suspected of murdering a Thai couple in Taiwan last week who fled to Thailand has turned himself in to the authorities, Taoyuan police said Friday.
In a press conference, the Zhongli police precinct said the suspect named Wang Ta-hsien (???), a Thai national, was accompanied by his father, who convinced his son to turn himself in to the police in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai Friday morning.
The Taoyuan police said the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) are working with the Thai authorities to try to extradite Wang back to Taiwan to face justice.
Taiwan currently does not have an official extradition treaty with Thailand, CIB official Dustin Lee (???) said, but noted that mutual legal assistance can still be initiated on a case-by-case basis, as has happened in the past.
There have been previous instances in which Thailand had agreed to extradite criminals to Taiwan for trial, he added.
For the Taoyuan case, the CIB official said that because the victims were Thai nationals and the suspect is also a Thai citizen, while the victims’ families have filed a report with Thailand authorities accusing Wang of murder, hence it is likely the suspect could stand trial there.
Taiwanese authorities are expected to negotiate with the Thai government to try to extradite Wang back to Taiwan, but the final decision will be made by Thailand, Lee explained.
The suspect was last seen together with the Thai couple surnamed Lee (?), who lived in New Taipei, on June 8, the Zhongli precinct said last week.
Based on a preliminary investigation, the couple operated a migrant worker recruitment agency in Taiwan with Wang as a business partner, it added.
He was found to have flown back to Thailand via Taoyuan International Airport on June 9, the same day he had ditched Lee’s vehicle, where the bodies of the couple were found in, at a parking lot near the Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station, according to police.
All three were of Chinese descent and knew each other from back in Thailand, according to police.
The police said the three met at a dormitory that houses migrant workers in New Taipei’s Tucheng District for a discussion on June 8, apparently over money matters.
A dispute quickly ensued, at which time Wang allegedly killed the couple and subsequently hid their bodies in the trunk of a vehicle, drove it to the parking lot, and fled the scene, police said.
The victims, aged 30-40, were reported missing by family members on June 9.
Acting on information provided by the couple’s close friends and relatives, police were able to find the vehicle belonging to them at the parking lot on June 10, police said.
Their bodies were found stashed in the trunk of a white vehicle, it said, adding that the female victim was later found to be pregnant.
On Monday, autopsies showed that the couple had sustained external wounds to their heads.
The cause of death has yet to be determined for both, pending the release of the official autopsy report, Taoyuan prosecutors said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel