Myanmar man faces three charges in Chiang Mai baby abduction case
A 44-year-old Myanmar national allegedly involved in the abduction of a Chiang Mai toddler was charged on Saturday with kidnapping and detaining the child, as well as sneaking into the country.
Pol Colonel Kriengsak Wonguthai, superintendent at Bo Luang Provincial Police Station, said the police will enforce immigration laws to detain the Myanmar man for investigation until the case is closed.
The toddler, Ponsiri “Gina” Wongsilaroongruang, went missing from her residence in the remote village of Ban Huay Fak Dab in Chiang Mai’s Mae Taeng district on August 5.
Three days later, a Myanmar national – who was a friend of the toddler’s father – confessed to police that he had kidnapped the child and left her at a cave some three kilometres away.
The missing Gina on the same day was found safe in a hut near her neighbourhood at around noon.
Police suspect that there are other persons connected to the alleged abduction. The arrested Myanmar man has told police that relatives of Gina's mother had lured him with drugs to abduct the child.
On Saturday, police officers questioned villagers and collected evidence from the village for forensic testing in order to find the others involved in the case.
However, they could not find the red pants that Gina had worn on the day she disappeared.