Two Defendants in Pattaya Drum Murder Case to Stand Trial Together

The two defendants in the so-called "Thailand Pattaya Drum Barrel Murder Case" are expected to be tried together.

The 4th Criminal Division of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam (Presiding Judge Kim Intaek) held the second hearing of the first trial on the 23rd for defendant A, a man in his 20s, who has been indicted on charges including robbery-murder and concealment of a corpse.

A is accused of kidnapping and murdering B, a Korean tourist in his 30s, together with two other Korean accomplices in Pattaya, Thailand, in May, and abandoning the body in a reservoir.

The defendant in the Thai Pattaya Drum Murder Case, who was apprehended in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, is heading to the court for a warrant hearing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

According to the prosecution, A and the others made B drink alcohol laced with drugs at a club in Thailand, causing him to become intoxicated, and then put him in a prearranged vehicle.

While moving to the accommodation booked as the crime scene, B, who was drunk, protested that the direction was different, at which point they strangled and beat him with their fists, resulting in his death.

During this process, A was found to have restrained B by holding his body down.

After B died, they transferred several million won from B's bank account using his mobile phone, and after returning to the accommodation, placed B's body in a barrel and dumped it in a nearby reservoir.

A, who returned to Korea immediately after the crime, was arrested in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, on the 12th of last month. C, another man in his 20s, was arrested in Cambodia on the 14th of the same month and was forcibly extradited to Korea on the 10th of this month, where he is currently under investigation. Another accomplice, D, a man in his 30s, is still at large.

A's attorney maintained the claim from the first trial, stating, "There was neither conspiracy nor participation in the crime."

The response to the prosecution's request regarding whether violence occurred in the vehicle and the location of the victim's death, as well as acknowledgment of the facts of the crime, will be submitted in a written statement.

The court has decided to conduct a joint trial for C, the accomplice in his 20s who was recently extradited, and A. The cases will be merged as soon as C is formally indicted in early August.

This decision was made considering the need for cross-examination between the defendants and the overlap of related evidence and witnesses.

The next hearing is scheduled to be held in the same courtroom at 2 p.m. on August 20.