Crime now looks like it was not primarily a kidnapping but a love affair that turned sour when the victim spurned the advances of one of the Chinese men. A fourth suspect, being held in Thailand, a Thai woman who befriended and facilitated the gang of three, may also have witnessed the sadistic torture and murder of the young Chinese student in the Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi on March 28th and March 29th last, say police.
Three men accused of the sadistic torture and murder of Chinese student Jin Can are in the custody of Chinese police after being arrested in the last 24 hours in Wuhan, China according to Thai national police chief General Damrongsak Kittiprapas. On Tuesday, he confirmed that the suspects would not be extradited to Thailand but would face a joint investigation and trial before a Chinese court with the prospect of them facing the death penalty or execution for the outrage they committed in Thailand having now risen sharply.
Thailand’s National Police Commissioner General Damrongsak Kittiprapas revealed on Tuesday that police in China have already arrested three men accused of murdering Chinese student Jin Can on March 28th last in Nonthaburi in a case that has shocked the kingdom.
The three, who were the subject of arrest warrants issued in Thailand on Monday, are 23-year-old Chen Saikan, 23-year-old Zhou Xiongfei and 24-year-old Zhou Pengfei.
Three men arrested in the Chinese city of Wuhan facing prosecution and trial in China where the death penalty is far more likely to be carried out
The men were arrested in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province in the centre of the country.
It has been confirmed, however, that the three men will not be extradited to Thailand but will instead face a heightened prospect of the death penalty being imposed on them if they are convicted before a Chinese court with a joint prosecution backed by both Chinese and Thai law enforcement officials.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Thai Immigration Bureau officials had already been sent to China to assist with the case and interrogation of the suspects where Chinese police will rely on evidence collected by Thai investigators still working on the case.
On Monday, a court in Nonthaburi issued arrest warrants for the three men charging them with false imprisonment, extortion with menaces and premeditated murder with torture.
Extradition treaty between China and Thailand allows for a party to refuse an extradition request where proceedings are pursued against the accused
Some reports, on Tuesday, suggested that the reason why the men were not being sent back to Thailand after Thai authorities reportedly sought their extradition on Monday including the issuance of Interpol red notices was an absence of an extradition treaty between Thailand and China.
Nonetheless, the kingdom has a valid and well-used extradition treaty regime in place with the People’s Republic of China which was signed in 1993.
It should be noted that Article 4 of the treaty allows for the requested party, in this case, China, to refuse extradition where it is itself in the process of taking legal action against the subjects required for extradition.
The fact that the case involved a Chinese victim who only arrived in Thailand on March 8th and the 3 suspects or alleged perpetrators are from China makes the case for Chinese authorities to pursue such a prosecution more compelling.
Thai police chief emphasises that the prosecution of the three suspects in China is certainly not good news for them. It’s good news for justice
Another key reason and one put forward by Thailand’s police chief, on Tuesday, speaking with the press, is that the incidence of the death penalty being applied to those convicted of such crimes was far higher in China so the refusal to extradite the three young men will hardly be good news for them.
It means that the chances of them facing the prospect of execution for the appalling outrage committed in Thailand against the 22-year-old woman have just risen sharply.
‘Chinese authorities arrested the suspects in China and can prosecute them without extraditing them to Thailand. Under Chinese law, the case carries the death penalty,’ General Damrongsak Kittiprapas explained on Tuesday announcing the arrests.
Arrest warrants for three Chinese killers, one a spurned lover, who were assisted by a Thai woman
The Thai police chief said it was also now far clearer that this case was more about a love turned sour than a kidnapping as the victim had previously rejected amorous advances from one of the accused men.
Case was not a kidnapping but a sort of vendetta linked to the fact that the victim had spurned one of the young men who made amorous advances
He said that this information came from interrogations of the three young men which have already begun in China.
The body of Jin Can was discovered only last Saturday, April 1st, in a plastic bag dumped in a pond in Nonthaburi after she was abducted on the evening of March 28th following which an investigation by the Thai police commenced on March 30th when a university official at Bangkok Thonburi University reported the third year music major student missing after being contacted by her distraught father who the men later demanded a ransom of ฿2.5 million from.
Chinese student here only 20 days kidnapped, tortured and murdered by evil gang from China here as tourists
The father, a music teacher in China, later told police he already had a premonition that his daughter had been murdered after initially dismissing the demands made with graphic videos, as a prank.
Investigation into the murder will be undertaken jointly by Thai and Chinese authorities to unearth the full truth of this matter and prosecute the men
General Damrongsak confirmed that China had a far higher death penalty rate than Thailand and that the interests of justice may be better served by Thai officials assisting the Chinese police and prosecutors now seeking justice for the victim in this shocking case.
He said Thai investigators would also interrogate the three accused and that the investigation of the case would be pursued jointly by Thai and Chinese authorities to get to the full truth.
He also explained that key aspects of the case relate to the life of the victim and three accused in China before they arrived in Thailand as well as the sequence of events which took place between March 8th 2023 when the victim first arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport from China and March 30th when the three alleged killers flew from Bangkok’s main international airport on a flight to Chengdu in China.
The police chief said Thailand would furnish all evidence in the case to Chinese prosecutors so that it can be most effectively put before a Chinese court.
19-year-old Thai woman, a fourth suspect, may have witnessed the unspeakable brutality inflicted on the 22-year-old Chinese woman and acted as a facilitator
At the same time, it has also emerged that a Thai woman, a 19-year-old karaoke bar worker who was detained yesterday, may have, contrary to earlier reports, been a witness to the depraved acts of the three men when they brutally and sadistically tortured the victim to death while under restraint at a luxury property in the Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi.
She is also thought to have facilitated and assisted in the perpetration of the crime.
Charges against her will be announced shortly.
General Damrongsak also alluded to the possibility that others may also be implicated in efforts to assist the three young men and their pursuit of what appears to be an evil vendetta against the young woman on Thai soil because she spurned the advances of one of them.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Arrest warrants for three Chinese killers, one a spurned lover, who were assisted by a Thai woman
Chinese student here only 20 days kidnapped, tortured and murdered by evil gang from China
Fear-mongering, fake news and disinformation being stoked in China against visiting Thailand
Chinese tourists arrested on kidnapping and extortion charges insist they are innocent
Chinese man linked to organised crime arrested at luxury Pattaya mansion after shooting policemen
Four Chinese men arrested after hideous murder of a Chinese tourist and his wife last Monday night
Iconic 70s Bangkok comes to life again as the dark story of The Serpent wows world Netflix audiences
Chinese man who killed his wife in Thailand may face further charges including premeditated murder
Chinese credit card scammer arrested in Lumpini by Thai police after complaints from banks
Chinese pickpockets staying in hostels as backpacker visitors targeting tourists in Bangkok
About the Author
James Morris and Son Nguyen
James Morris is a pename for an international writer based in Bangkok who works on various international news media. He is a sub editor with the Thai Examiner news website since it began in 2015. Son Nguyen is an international writer and news commentator specialising in Thai news and current affairs. He commenced working with the Thai Examiner News Desk in May 2018.
