An initial review of chat logs on Wang’s phone confirmed his story, Thatchai told Thai PBS TV.
He said Wang told police there were about 50 other Chinese at the same location. Like him, all had their heads shaved, he told police. He said he was too scared to resist or try to escape.
Criminal activity has flourished in border areas of military-ruled Myanmar, where fighting has pitted armed ethnic groups against the army for decades.
Chinese authorities have said they had cracked down on criminal syndicates in joint operations with neighbouring countries that led to thousands of people being returned to China, but those campaigns did not include arrests of ring leaders in Myanmar.
Chinese investors operate casino complexes in what amounts to autonomous development zones in cooperation with Myanmar’s Border Guard Force, a militia belonging to the ethnic Karen minority.
Wang’s disappearance received attention after an internet user who claimed to be his girlfriend posted about it on Chinese social media, according to The Global Times. Wang has been featured in popular Chinese TV dramas.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday said the government was working as best it could to mitigate any impact the case might have on the reputation of Thailand as a safe tourist destination.
Source: CNA
