A Singaporean man and his Thai wife on an Interpol Red Notice may have fled to Thailand, according to news reports.
Deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said on Thursday Pi Jiapeng, a Singaporean national, and his Thai wife, Siriwipa Pansuk, were arrested in Singapore last month.
According to Singapore's CNA news channel, the couple went missing after being arrested for allegedly failing to deliver luxury watches and bags. They were presumed to have fled Singapore by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Wednesday.
At least 180 reports involving two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, which were operated by the couple, have been made to police since June.
The complainants said they made advance payments to the company for luxury watches or bags, but the companies did not deliver the products.
CNA reported the 26-year-old Singaporean was arrested on June 27 on suspicion of cheating customers. He was released on bail the next day after his passport was impounded. His wife, 27, surrendered her passport on June 30. After that, the couple could not be contacted.
Chinese-language daily Shin Min Daily News said the couple, also known by their aliases of Kevin and Ann, left Singapore and entered Malaysia and are apparently in Thailand at present.
On Thursday, Pol Col Kissana said damages from the alleged fraud were estimated to be worth the equivalent of 800 million baht.
The couple fled after being granted bail. However, Pol Col Kissana did not say if they came to Thailand.
Interpol has issued a Red Notice, a request to seek fugitives who escape prosecution, for the couple at the behest of Singaporean authorities. However, Singapore has not contacted the Royal Thai Police for help.
The Shin Min Daily News reported that before the couple started the luxury goods business, Kevin worked as shoe salesman. He met Ann through a dating app.
After they married, the couple established two companies selling pre-ordered brand-name items to customers using social media and websites as their trading channels. They ran the businesses until customers began to suspect something was amiss when the couple fell behind in delivering goods on order.
A 37-year-old customer told the news outlet they paid more than S$700,000 (18 million baht) for six Rolex and Patek Philippe watches which they never received. The customer had bought from the couple before and there had been no problem.
The couple told the customer there was a delay in shipment and tax procedures due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict and that they should wait for three months for the issue to clear up, according to Shin Min Daily News.
