A 20-year-old suspect accused of killing and abandoning a Korean in Pattaya, Thailand, was arrested on the 15th at the Changwon District Court in Seongsan-gu, Changwon City, South Gyeongsang Province for pre-trial detention.
On the same day, Judge Kim Seong-jin of the Changwon District Court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified as A (26), on charges of murder and aiding and abetting, stating that there is a concern for flight and destruction of evidence. A is suspected of kidnapping and killing another Korean accomplice and a Korean man named B (34) in Pattaya earlier this month before abandoning the body.
A, one of the three suspects, was arrested at his residence in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on the night of the 12th. During the pre-trial hearing, A denied being directly involved in the murder, stating, “I didn’t kill anyone,” and tearfully said, “I didn’t know anything,” before heading into the courtroom.
While admitting to being at the scene with his accomplices, A claimed that he did not directly participate in the murder. The group allegedly threatened B’s mother, a victim residing in Gyeongnam, with messages demanding a large sum of money or they would harm her son.
The police are investigating all possibilities regarding the relationship between the suspects and the victim, as well as financial motives behind the crime. One of the accomplices, C (27), was apprehended by Cambodian police in a hostel in Phnom Penh on the 14th, while another accomplice, D (in his 30s), is currently being traced in cooperation with local authorities.
Thai police confirmed the discovery of the victim B’s body, whose fingers were all mutilated, inside a large black plastic container filled with cement in a reservoir in Pattaya on the night of the 11th local time, and they are continuing their investigation.