Pattaya murder suspect extradited from Cambodia to South Korea

One of the three suspects in the murder of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya was extradited to Seoul today, after being apprehended in Cambodia, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The 27-year-old suspect arrived at Incheon International Airport this morning, after being apprehended by police in Phnom Penh on May 14.

Yonhap reported that the South Korean police had been working with Cambodian authorities to ensure that the suspect is repatriated as quickly as possible, within the boundaries of the law.

Yonhap reported that another suspect, aged 26, was captured in Jeongeup, in South Jeolla Province in May and was indicted for murder last month.

A third suspect, 39-years-old, remains at large.

They are all accused of murdering a Korean traveller, 34, and abandoning his body in Pattaya in early May. His body was found in a reservoir, inside a black plastic container filled with cement.

All the victim’s fingers were cut off, to make identification difficult.

The victim was last seen in a nightclub in Bangkok on May 2, where he became acquainted with the suspects. He was then allegedly drugged and taken to Pattaya.

The investigation found that the suspects and victim were not acquainted prior to their meeting in Thailand, and that the perpetrators had approached the victim for money.

The suspects called the victim’s family to demand a ransom on May 7, by which date the victim is believed to have already been murdered.

Photo : One suspect in the murder of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand is escorted off a plane at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, after being extradited from Phnom Penh, Cambodia where he was apprehended by local police. (Yonhap)