Judicial police investigators have arrested the male suspect in the alleged murder of a Chinese national in Thailand.
The unemployed man, Ma Qingyan, aged 34, was found to have pawned a counterfeit watch in downtown Macau last week.
The incident was reported to local police, who later intercepted the suspect at the Taipa Ferry Terminal.
Further investigation later confirmed his identity as the mastermind behind the ransom kidnapping of TikToker Yan Ruimin, who arrived in Bangkok from Malaysia on her own.
The 38-year-old’s remains were recovered by Thai police last Saturday after she had been missing for at least 10 days.
Her friend told Thai investigators that she was heading for Phuket prior to her disappearance.
According to Thai police authorities, Yan was killed and her body dismembered sometime on 1 July in overgrown grassland in Bang Phra, Mueang district, Chachoengsao province, some 50 kilometres east of Bangkok.
One of the deceased’s relatives in mainland China, a brother-in-law, told local police that he had received a ransom demand of RMB1 million (US$140,000 million/ MOP1.1 million).
The suspect is believed to have made his way into Macau via Hong Kong on 2 July.
It was also reported that records of purchases in Macau were found on the victim’s WeChat account, suggesting that Ma may have travelled around the city for several days.
The Macau authorities said that the suspect had already been transferred to the Chinese mainland for follow-up.
