On January 3, 2025, Wang Xing (stage name "Xingxing"), a Chinese actor, was deceived into a scam center in Myanmar by a fraud group under the pretext of "going to Thailand for filming".
The Thai-Myanmar border area, especially the Mae Sot district in Thailand, has long been a hotbed for various cross-border criminal activities due to its special geographical location and relatively weak law enforcement.
[6] A Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking report, released in January 2025, noted that more than 6,000 people from 21 countries are being held captive in Myanmar.
He participated in many film and television works, including Ip Man 3 (2015), Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact (2016), The Tale of Rose (2024), mostly in supporting roles.
Wang then through the group chat contacted Yan Shiliu (颜十六) who claimed to be an acting coordinator from GMM Grammy to discuss the role.
[8][11] Subsequent police investigations later revealed that the Toyota Hilux Revo pickup truck was owned by a Thai citizen named Ravi.
Ravi confessed to the police that he received instructions from a Karen militia soldier to pick Wang up from a supermarket in Mae Sot district.
[11][12] After being rescued, Wang in an interview stated that he originally thought that this trip was to use Thailand as a transit point to go to a third country for filming, and did not realize that he had entered Myanmar after crossing the Moei River.
According to Sing Tao Daily's report, the man responsible for the largest human trafficking, Hui Huangyi (辉煌钰), was in cooperation with Jin Can (金灿), the boss of Apollo Park, to supply the latter with people lured to work there.
Famous artists and verified Weibo accounts, including Shu Qi, Yao Chen, Gong Jun, Gina Jin, Dong Chengpeng, Ma Tianyu, and Hu Lianxin [zh] posted messages of support, causing the related topic (Chinese: 演員星星在泰緬邊境失聯; lit.
[18][19][20] Another actor, Fan Hu (范虎), who was also in a similar situation, said that the fake crew was very familiar with the entertainment industry and its practices, and came across as professional in their conversational skills.
[21] On January 6, after arriving in Bangkok, Jiajia immediately went to the Chinese embassy in Thailand and the local police station to report the case, and officially opened an investigation into Wang Xing's disappearance.
[22] However, Tak Province Police Chief Major General Samrit Ekamol claimed in a report that preliminary investigations showed that Wang Xing went to Myanmar voluntarily and was not kidnapped, threatened or forced.
[23] On January 7, after negotiations between the Thai, Myanmar officials and Karen National Army, Wang Xing was handed over at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge.
According to reports, Karen National Army deputy commander Major Tin Win[b] said that Wang Xing had told him that he was going to Myanmar to visit his relatives in Shwe Kokko.
[24] After crossing the border back into Thailand, with his head shaven and wearing white shirt and shorts, he was interviewed by authorities at the Tak Province Immigration Checkpoint.
[45] Due to the safety issues of Chinese citizens traveling to Thailand caused by Wang Xing's disappearance, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan decided to cancel the Bangkok stop, originally to be held on February 22 at the Impact Arena, of his ongoing Fear and Dreams world tour.
[55][56] Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said the authorities would take appropriate measures to properly handle the matter and ensure that Thailand's tourism industry was not affected.
[57] On January 7, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesperson, Guo Jiakun pointed out that the Chinese embassies and consulates abroad had received requests for help from the relatives of the parties involved and were in close contact with them.
China will continue to pay attention to the development of the incident and guide the Chinese embassies and consulates abroad to properly handle the follow-up matters.