Pre-trial detention hearing for a man in his 20s arrested as a suspect in the kidnapping and murder of a Korean in Pattaya, Thailand, will be held on the afternoon of the 15th.
According to the legal community on the 14th, the detention warrant review for Mr. A, a man in his 20s for whom the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency has applied for an arrest warrant on charges of aiding and abetting murder, is scheduled to take place at Changwon District Court around 3 p.m. on the 15th.
Mr. A is accused of participating in the kidnapping, murder, and disposal of the body of Mr. B, a man in his 30s, in Thailand, along with two other Korean accomplices.
He is known to claim that he did not directly participate in the murder.
The police tracked Mr. A, who entered Korea from Thailand on the 9th, and made an emergency arrest at a residence in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, at 7:46 p.m. on the 12th of this month.
Since Mr. A denies direct involvement in the crime, he has been charged with aiding and abetting murder, and the police plan to add or change charges based on further investigation.
Thai police are examining a body contained in a black plastic container recovered from a reservoir in Pattaya. [Photo by Thai media Khaosod website capture]
Earlier, local police identified that Mr. A and two others moved Mr. B by car to Pa Pattaya in Pattaya, Thailand, and rented accommodation near a reservoir.
They were confirmed to have purchased ropes and black plastic containers, and around 9 p.m. the following night, they loaded a black object into the vehicle’s trunk, left the lodging, and parked near a reservoir in Pattaya for about an hour before leaving.
At a depth of 3 meters in the reservoir visited by the group, a black plastic container filled with cement was found, inside which a Korean man was discovered dead with all his fingers severed.
The man was identified as Mr. B, a Korean tourist from Gimhae, Gyeongnam, and the police narrowed down their search to three Korean suspects.
Among the three suspects, Mr. A was arrested in Korea, and Mr. C, a man in his 20s, was apprehended in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at 12:10 a.m. on the 14th, leaving one suspect still at large.
Based on a threatening phone call made to Mr. B’s mother on the 7th, in which the group demanded 3 million baht (approximately 112 million KRW) claiming that Mr. B caused them losses by discarding drugs and threatened to kill her son if the money was not paid, the police are investigating the exact motive for the crime.
Additionally, discussions are underway regarding the repatriation of Mr. C, who is detained by Cambodian police after his arrest, while the search for the remaining suspect continues.
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