Thai kidnap victim calls home
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One of four Thai workers abducted by an unknown gang in Nigeria has telephoned his company, saying he and the other Thais were safe and had not been harmed, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Manasvi Srisodapol said Tuesday.
The caller told the company that he would make contact again soon, the spokesman said. He did not identify the caller.
The kidnapped Thais are husband and wife Somchok Punpinit, 55 and Bussaya Sripanya, 38, Thanawut Punpinit, 50 and Chaiyan Taichompu, 46. Thanawut is Somchok’s brother.
The four Thais and two Nigerians were on their way to work at an Israeli-operated fish farm in the southern state of Rivers in Nigeria on August 9 when they were abducted.
Details of the abduction are still under investigation.
Manasvi said Thai Ambassador to Nigeria Somchai Powcharoen has already assigned his minister counsellor to go to Rivers state to take charge of the issue.
He quoted local authorities as sympathising with the Thai workers and praising them for being hard working. The authorities are more than ready to cooperate in order to guarantee the Thais’ safety and secure their freedom.
“The kidnappers have not yet demanded a ransom or anything else. When the demand is made, we can move and negotiate,” he said.
Rivers authorities had taken the diplomat to see the site where the abduction was made. They said there were about five to six abductors and these were not believed to be locals.
Meanwhile relatives of the abducted Thais met in Udon Thani’s Nong Han district and decided to seek help from Udon Thani MP Thongdee Manissarn.
They said the four travelled to Nigeria in December last year with a six-month visa. They returned home on June 9 when their visas expired and went back to Nigeria on June 20. They said their office was by the Niger River and they had to travel by boat to the working site. They were escorted and protected by Nigerian armed soldiers.
Panu Punpinit, 23, son of Somchok and Bussaya, said his parents contacted him everyday via Facebook. Since there were no signs of danger, he and one of his cousins were scheduled to go to work in Nigeria and had already obtained a six-month visa. “We are about to leave. We’re just waiting for air tickets and my father’s confirmation of the travel date,” Panu said.
