Model 'murdered' at luxury home, boyfriend arrested

Michael Shum

Thai police have arrested a Hong Kong model's boyfriend on suspicion of murder after she suffered nine stab wounds in her house in Bangkok. The boyfriend, Wai Kit, also a Hongkonger, has insisted that his partner had committed suicide.

Gwendoline Cretton, 24, a Eurasian victim with a Hong Kong ID card and a Swiss passport, had signed with a multinational modeling management agency based in Singapore and Hong Kong for which she had done advertisement photo shoots with foreign brands.

According to a Thai TV station, the incident occurred on Thursday night in one of the mansions in Prawet district - a luxury housing area in the southeastern part of Bangkok.

"Neighbors heard a loud scream from Cretton's home and called police at around 6.15pm," the report said.

"Officers arrived at the scene and checked surveillance camera footage, which showed three men trying to transport a body from the home. Among the three men was Cretton's boyfriend Wai," it added.

Bystanders took to social media to say they heard Wai cry for help after Cretton was hurt. Wai then told them Cretton had committed suicide and asked them to drive her to the nearest hospital.

The report said Cretton sustained nine stab wounds, including slashes to her throat and chest, which most probably caused her death.

In the early phase of the investigation, Wai insisted under police caution that Cretton took her own life in a suicide attempt.

However, a thorough investigation raised suspicions about Wai, and police suspected that foul play might have been involved.

Officers found footage of Cretton walking her dog at around 5.37pm that day - less than an hour before the incident happened, and Cretton showed no signs of any emotional problem or distress.

At the same time when Cretton was walking her dog, Wai was driving a yellow private vehicle circling around her home, according to Thai media, citing local police.

Officers classified the case as murder and decided to dig deeper into Wai's story to look for a potential motive.

The Immigration Department said it was aware of the incident and had immediately sought information through the Chinese foreign commissioner in Hong Kong and the Chinese embassy in Thailand.

"The department has yet to receive any request for assistance," a spokesman said.

"We will maintain close contact with the commissioner's office and the embassy in the meantime, while also keeping a close watch on the development of the incident."

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com