Case of the missing German took a sinister turn on Sunday morning with a senior Thai police officer confirming that someone had used a cleaning agent to wipe away fingerprints throughout the interior of the vehicle and even on the outside. This suggests that a serious crime has been committed, raising fears for the German man’s fate.
There are real fears for the safety and well-being of a German property tycoon who disappeared on Tuesday, July 4th last in the Bang Lamung area of Pattaya after a meeting with a fellow German national to discuss potential property deals. On Sunday, his luxury Mercedes Benz E350 coupé was found in the car park of a condominium complex with police discovering evidence that whoever parked it there had attempted to conceal their fingerprints. It has also emerged that police have spoken to a key witness who saw two young women park the vehicle on Wednesday, July 5th last, sometime in the afternoon.
An intense police investigation is underway in Pattaya following the disappearance of Mr Hans Peter Ralter Mack, a 62-year-old property tycoon who has lived in Pattaya for some time and who was reported missing by his family this week.
He was last seen at 12.41 pm on Tuesday, July 4th after meeting with a 54-year-old fellow German national Ms Peta, a property broker.
German property tycoon reported as missing by his family on July 5th last to police in the resort city
The wealthy German businessman was reported missing to local police in Pattaya the day after, on July 5th, by his family.
Mr Ralter Mack had left his home at an exclusive housing estate in Pattaya on Tuesday morning to meet with the property broker who he had become acquainted with recently.
The German was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with black shorts and black shoes.
He is married to 24-year-old Piraya Bunmak for the last five years and has two sons, one of whom is living in Pattaya with his father while the other is in Spain.
On Sunday morning, police made a breakthrough in the case after a reward had earlier been offered by the family for the discovery of Mr Ralter Mack’s luxury Mercedes car and the safe return of the German businessman.
Rewards for the safe return of both the car and the wealthy businessman offered by his family after his disappearance last week of up to ฿3.1 million
The rewards of ฿100,000 and ฿3 million baht for both outcomes respectively were offered this week in public notices by the German man’s concerned family.
On Sunday morning at 7.30 am, Police Colonel Tawee Kutthalaeng, the Superintendent of Nong Prue Police Station in Pattaya revealed that the car had been discovered in the car park of a condominium complex off the Khao Noi Road by a resident of the complex.
Police forensic teams immediately were dispatched to the scene and went to work examining the grey-silver grey silver Mercedes-Benz E350 coupé model parked there.
They quickly discovered that someone had gone to extreme lengths to clean the car from an evidentiary point of view.
Police Major General Theerachai Chamnanmor, who oversees investigations for Provincial Police Region 2, described this as a negative indicator of what may have ultimately happened to the German.
Evidence inside and outside the car discovered on Sunday of toilet cleaner being used to wipe away fingerprints viewed ominously by top police officers
It suggests foul play and the concealment of a crime.
‘There was intention to destroy evidence and the case indicates that Mr Hans Peter Ralter Mack’s disappearance was suspicious,’ the senior officer told reporters.
Senior police officers were certain that the discovery of coolant or toilet cleaner on the seats of the car, its interior and even on the windscreen suggested someone had been trying to eliminate fingerprints was quite a sinister development.
However, there was also a potential breakthrough in the case with a food vendor witnessing two attractive young women emerging from the car park sometime last week probably on July 5th.
Possible breakthrough for investigators as street vendor spotted two women coming from the car and the parking palace on Wednesday afternoon last
39-year-old Ms Prai Namphat, a street vendor selling grilled chicken near the lot, told police that on July 5th, according to her best recollection, she saw two women walking from the car and emerging from the car park.
This was on Wednesday afternoon last.
One was dark-skinned and approximately 155 cm to 160 cm tall, while the other did not register so clearly with her.
There are also other reports that the car was often seen in the same car park suggesting the German businessman had some connection with the area or the complex itself.
Police Major General Theerachai told reporters that police were continuing their forensic examination of the car in an effort to discover any possible latent fingerprints either inside or outside the vehicle.
On Sunday, Mr Hans Ralter Mack’s son Peter met with police at the condominium car park at the CC condominium building on Kwan Wai Road in Nong Prue to confirm that the Mercedes coupé was, in fact, his father’s car.
Mercedes Benz carrying Mr Ralter Mack last seen heading in the direction of Jomtien Beach, Pattaya meeting with a broker at 12.41 pm on Tuesday
Police investigators working on the case have received CCTV footage from a restaurant showing Mr Ralter Mack entering a restaurant premises on Thung Klom-Tan Man Road at 11.54 am on July 4th for his meeting with Ms Peta where they discussed the possible purchase of luxury villas on Ko Samui and a boxing stadium in the Banglamung area of Pattaya for hundreds of millions of baht.
Ms Peta told police that Mr Ralter Mack had expressed an interest in the land associated with the boxing complex but not the holiday villas on sale on the holiday island in Surat Thani province.
Police reports suggest that Ms Peta’s car, a black SUV, was followed Mr Ralter Mack’s Mercedes coupé, registration Bangkok 7146, towards the Chaiyaphruek intersection before it turned heading towards Jomtien Beach where CCTV footage of the car being driven by him was last recorded at 12.41 pm.
This is the last recorded sighting of the German businessman whose car was discovered on Sunday morning with its clues pointing to something nefarious having occurred to the missing German beyond that point.
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