SINGAPORE: A couple who fled Singapore after allegedly failing to deliver luxury watches and bags to buyers have been listed on the Interpol red notice website on Thursday (Jul 21).
Pi Jiapeng, a 26-year-old Singaporean man, and 27-year-old Pansuk Siriwipa from Thailand are wanted fugitives, according to Interpol.
The Singapore Police Force had issued arrest warrants and identified them on Wednesday. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that the couple fled Singapore by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry.
Pi was born in Fujian, China, while Pansuk is from Roi Et, a province in central northeastern Thailand, said Interpol. The agency added that Pansuk has a height of 1.64m.
At least 180 reports involving two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, have been made to the police from June to date.
While some media reports said the total value of the undelivered goods is S$32 million, CNA understands that the victims who made police reports have not received goods worth at least S$20 million as of Sunday.
The complainants said they made advance payments to the company for luxury watches or bags, but the companies did not deliver the products.
A 40-year-old Malaysian man had helped the couple leave Singapore illegally by allegedly hiding them in a lorry, ICA said in response to queries from CNA. The police have arrested the man.
WHAT IS AN INTERPOL RED NOTICE?
According to Interpol, red notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.
It is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person, pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
Red notices are published by Interpol at the request of a member country and must comply with Interpol’s constitution and rules. A red notice is not an international arrest warrant, said Interpol.
Each member country decides what legal value it gives to a red notice and the authority of law enforcement officers to make the arrests.
There are currently about 69,000 valid red notices, of which around 7,500 are public, according to Interpol data.