58 Days After Arrest ... Gyeongnam Police Agency Launches Intensive Investigation
The police forcibly repatriated the suspect of the Pattaya murder case, who was arrested in Cambodia, to South Korea. [Photo by National Police Agency]
The suspect in the Pattaya drum murder case, who was apprehended in Cambodia, has finally been extradited to Korea.
According to the National Police Agency, the suspect in his 20s, identified as A, was extradited through Incheon International Airport from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at around 7:40 a.m. on the 10th, 58 days after his arrest.
A is accused of kidnapping and murdering B, a Korean tourist in his 30s, along with two other Korean accomplices in Pattaya, Thailand, in May, and then disposing of the body in a reservoir.
After committing the crime, A fled to Cambodia around May 9, but was apprehended in Phnom Penh five days later. He was extradited on this day and escorted to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, which is in charge of the investigation.
During this time, Korean police continued consultations with authorities in Thailand and Cambodia, as well as local police, to facilitate A's extradition to Korea.
Since the incident, Korean authorities have exchanged investigative information with Thai police, and in mid-last month, sent an investigation team from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency to Thailand for a joint investigation meeting.
As a result, Cambodian investigative authorities, who initially intended to follow the formal extradition process, changed their stance and handed over the suspect to Korea in the form of forced deportation.
Previously, C, another suspect in his 20s, was apprehended in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on May 12. With the extradition of A, two out of the three suspects in the Pattaya drum murder case are now in custody. Another suspect, D, a man in his 30s, is still at large.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, which is leading the investigation, will focus on questioning A, who has been forcibly extradited, and continue international cooperation with police in countries where D is likely to be hiding in order to apprehend him.
An official from the Provincial Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Unit stated, "Securing A will accelerate the process of proving the charges against B, another suspect currently on trial," adding, "We will work swiftly through international cooperation to apprehend the remaining suspect who is on the run."
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