Published on May 13, 2005

Police are investigating the abduction two weeks ago of seven people who were taken from their rented mansion in Nakhon Pathom province and bundled into a van, never to be heard from since.

Pol Lt-Colonel Chaiyos Mukda-harn, an inspector at Muang Nak-hon Pathom station, said the kidnap victims were last seen being forced into a Mercedes-Benz van on April 29. “It’s a complicated case,” he said.

Possible motives for the abductions include a conflict over a racehorse, gambling on boxing, the fatal shooting of a police sergeant inside a military compound, and conflicts with another senior police officer, he said.

The abductions came to light on Wednesday when Sornsilp Chuang-ching, a school headmaster from Ubon Ratchathani, lodged a complaint with Chaiyos that his 26-year-old daughter had mysteriously disappeared at the end of last month. After an initial investigation, police discovered that the girl, Kusuma, was among the kidnap victims.

Police said she shared the mansion with her boyfriend, Siripon Nansajjakul, 30, and five other people – Thanapon Hiranpongpaiboon, 36, Bandhit Koyking, 18, Suchin Plengsri-ngarm, Wassana Sinsoong-nern, 29, and Pichet Sooksabai.

Suchin is a former chairman of the Khanong Phra Tambon Administrative Organisation in Nakhon Ratchasima province. He was shot in a dispute with a high-ranking policeman in the province, then moved to Nakhon Pathom with his wife, Wassana, and henchman Pichet.

Siripon is said to be a gambling addict and an aide to Lieutenant Chuchart Cherdpetchrat, who allegedly shot dead a sergeant working in his unit. Gambling conflicts were the likely cause of the murder, and a separate probe is under way into the case.

Nakhon Pathom police chief Maj-General Kasem Sangkhaphan yesterday called a meeting to discuss how to tackle the abduction case. “We believe an influential group or person might have been behind the abductions,” he said.

Colonel Wasan Phanmanee, superintendent of Muang Nakhon Pathom station, said conflicts surrounding Siripon or Suchin were the most likely cause of the abductions.

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