BANGKOK – On April 20, Pol. Col. Pansa Amrapitak, superintendent of Thonglor Police Station, revealed that Miss Sandra Christina Marie Diersten, a 45-year-old French woman suspected of leading a group of foreigners in a plot to rob and kidnap the 7-year-old daughter of a wealthy Thai businesswoman, was released on bail on April 19 with a bond of 75,000 baht, or approximately 2,000 USD.
The investigating officials determined that the accused had no incentive to flee or continue interfering with evidence; therefore, they granted her temporary bail. They are currently investigating the case, but she has not yet been taken to court.
In this case, Ms. IIssaree Suwunnavid, CEO of Knightsbridge Bloodstock and KXCO, a blockchain technology business, filed a police report stating that a gang of foreigners was intending to abduct her seven-year-old daughter and demand a ransom of more than 200 million baht, or about 5.4 million USD.
Miss Diersten denied the charges and stated that she was acquainted with Ms. IIssaree’s husband, with whom she had a loss-making business. So she just wanted her money back.
The police have issued arrest warrants for the remaining two suspects. They are still attempting to apprehend Mr. Jake Adams, 28, of American nationality, who previously worked on a project with the Thai businesswoman, and Mr. Nicholas Tan Hong Xin, 25, of Malaysian nationality, who was an employee of Ms. Suwunnavid’s company and provided information and details about Ms. Suwunnavid and her family, including the location of the girl’s school.
After investigating the circumstances surrounding the three accused, they created a Telegram group named Private Group to convey a plan to steal and kidnap the target’s daughter in order to retrieve 200 million baht in lost business assets.
Officials expect the inquiry to take about a month to complete.
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French Woman Arrested for Kidnap Plot Targeting Thai Business Mogul’s Daughter
