2 Japanese gangster suspects in Thailand murder flee to Laos

Two Japanese gang members suspected of killing a Japanese man and dismembering his body in Nonthaburi province last month have fled to a neighbouring country, police said Friday, with a police source identifying it as Laos.

Pol Lt Gen Chirasan Kaeosaengake, the commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, told reporters that Thailand has sought the neighbouring country’s cooperation in searching for the two suspects.

He did not identify it but the source said they had fled to Laos.

Earlier this week, police obtained arrest warrants for Takuya Kato, 49, and Hiroto Suzuki, 27, on suspicion of murdering fellow gangster Ryosuke Kabashima, 47, in Nonthaburi.

The gang was operating a phone scam targeting Japanese citizens in their home country, according to local media reports.

Kritsakorn Jaiphitak arrested Tuesday has confessed to police that he was hired to drive the three Japanese men to a warehouse in Bangkok and that one sitting in the front seat next to the driver was shot from the rear seat after the three quarreled.

He told police the two Japanese suspects dismembered the victim’s body and instructed him to get rid of plastic bags containing its parts in Nonthaburi, according to the police.

The victim’s skull was discovered in the province earlier this week with bullet holes, while other body parts were found last week in plastic bags discarded in a wasteland area.