NINTHABURI — In a chilling display of international crime reaching Thailand, two Japanese Yakuza members re-enacted the gruesome murder and dismemberment of their compatriot at a warehouse in Nonthaburi province.
On August 10, Bang Bua Thong police and the investigation team brought suspects Takuya Kato, 50, and Hiroto Suzuki, 27, two gang members suspected of murdering fellow gangster Ryosuke Kabashima, 47, and dismembering his body, to perform a crime re-enactment.
The re-enactment took place at the warehouse where the murder and dismemberment occurred, located at the end of Soi Chatsan Swing 2, Phimonrat Subdistrict, Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province.
The two Japanese men, who were detained in Laos for allegedly murdering and dismembering a compatriot in Thailand, had been extradited to Thailand on June 13. One of the suspects confessed to all charges, while the other denied the murder charge but admitted to helping dispose of the body parts. The police brought them for the re-enactment, employing 20 officers for security.
Re-enactment points:
- On March 28, 2024, the suspects and the victim drove from Bangkok after having a meal and parked at the warehouse.
- Kato, one of the suspects, argued with the victim in the middle of the warehouse. Then, he took the victim to a car parked in the warehouse, seated him in the front passenger seat facing outwards. The suspect stood outside and shot the victim, then left the body.
- The next day, March 29, 2024, Kato dragged the body into a room inside the warehouse with a bathroom and dismembered the body alone.
- The skull was disposed of in an abandoned garden at the end of Phu Yai Liam Alley, after the first piece of the body, the right hand bone with a tattoo on the wrist, was found by a boy who saw a dog carrying this part in its mouth on April 19.
Police Colonel Pruet Chamroonsan revealed that the motive, according to the confessing suspect, was a debt of 8 million baht ($227,000 or 33 million yen. Previously, the suspect had hired Mr. Ryosuke for an undisclosed job, which Ryosuke failed to complete and refused to return the money.
The suspects didn’t provide information about their escape route, but police investigations revealed they fled to a neighboring country, Laos. The investigation team is looking into what illegal activities these Yakuza gang members were involved in.
The suspects are currently charged with premeditated murder, firearms-related charges, concealment and destruction of a corpse, illegal entry, and overstaying their visa.
After the re-enactment, the investigation team took the suspects to Bang Bua Thong Police Station before transferring them to Nonthaburi Provincial Court for detention on Sunday, August 11.
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