A man suspected of murdering a Thai couple in Taiwan has turned himself in to authorities in Thailand, Taoyuan police said yesterday.
A spokesperson for the Jhongli District (中壢) police precinct told a news conference that the suspect, Wang Ta-hsien (王大賢) of Thailand, was accompanied by his father, who convinced his son to turn himself in to police in Chiang Mai, Thailand, yesterday morning.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) are working with Thai authorities to extradite Wang to face charges, the Jhongli police said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan does not have an official extradition treaty with Thailand, but Thailand has in previous cases agreed to extradite suspects to Taiwan for trial, CIB official Dustin Lee (李泱輯) said.
In the Taoyuan case, as the couple and the suspect are Thai, and as the couple’s families have filed a report in Thailand accusing Wang of murder, it is likely the suspect could be tried there, Lee said.
Wang was last seen with the couple surnamed Lee (李), who lived in New Taipei City, on Wednesday last week, Jhongli police 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 said.
Wang returned to Thailand on a flight out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Thursday last week, the same day he abandoned the couple’s vehicle, in which their bodies were found, in a parking lot near the Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station, it said.
All three were of Chinese descent and had met in Thailand, it said.
On Wednesday last week, they met at a dormitory for migrant workers in New Taipei City, apparently to discuss money matters, it said.
A dispute ensued, and Wang allegedly killed the couple and hid their bodies in the trunk of their vehicle, it said.
The couple, aged 30 to 40, were reported missing by family members on Thursday last week.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok, Royal Thai Police Commissioner Suwat Jangyodsuk said during a news conference yesterday that the suspect will stand trial in Thailand.
Thailand has jurisdiction in the case involving the suspect, he said.
As Thailand and Taiwan do not have any agreement of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, Wang, 35, will not be extradited to Taiwan, said the Thai police chief.
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