Suspect in 'Pattaya Drum Murder Case' Arrested in Jeongeup and Sent to Prosecution Under Detention

Robbery-Murder and Abandonment of a Corpse Charges

The suspect in the kidnapping and murder of a Korean national in Pattaya, Thailand, who was apprehended in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, has been handed over to the prosecution.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Unit announced that at around 9 a.m. on the 22nd, a man in his 20s, identified as A, was transferred to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office under arrest on charges of robbery-murder and corpse abandonment.

A was urgently arrested by police at a residence in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, at 7:46 p.m. on the 12th, on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering a man in his 30s, also Korean, in Pattaya, Thailand, and disposing of the body.

Police initially applied only the charge of aiding and abetting murder against A, who denied the crime, and requested an arrest warrant. The following day, during the pretrial detention hearing, A was detained on the grounds of flight risk and potential destruction of evidence.

Subsequently, based on evidence that A and two accomplices killed the victim, the charges were changed to robbery-murder and corpse abandonment.

On the 15th, prior to the pretrial detention hearing at Changwon District Court, A denied the crime, telling reporters who asked about his motive and the whereabouts of his accomplices, "I didn't kill him, I don't know anything."

The suspect in the Thai Pattaya drum murder case, who was apprehended in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, is being escorted by the police to Changwon District Court for a warrant hearing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

Earlier, police identified three suspects in their 20s?A, B, and C?as being involved in the case after the body of a Korean man, with all his fingers severed, was found in a black plastic container recovered from a reservoir in Pattaya, Thailand, on the 11th local time.

The group reportedly transported the victim by car to Pattaya around 2 a.m. on the 3rd, switched vehicles, and had purchased the rope and black plastic container used in the crime in advance.

On the night of the following day, around 9 p.m., they were seen loading a black object into the vehicle's trunk and leaving their accommodation, parking near the reservoir for about an hour before returning to the lodging facility.

On the 7th, it was determined that the suspects called the deceased man's mother, threatening, "Your son caused a loss by discarding drugs. If you do not pay 3 million baht (about 112 million KRW), we will kill your son."

Recently, local Thai media reported that A and the group allegedly gave the victim sleeping pills and put him in a car, but the victim regained consciousness while being transported to Pattaya, and after a struggle, was strangled to death.

It was also reported that the suspects had planned the crime in advance, including renting a house.

Additionally, Thai police suspect the motive was financial gain, as two withdrawals?1.7 million KRW and 2 million KRW?were made from the deceased man's account on the 7th.

Police are currently working to extradite B, who was apprehended at a lodging in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at 12:10 a.m. on the 14th, and are cooperating with local authorities to track down C, who remains at large.