Suspect in murder of S. Korean tourist in Thailand extradited from Cambodia

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)

One of the three suspects behind the May murder of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand has been extradited here Wednesday, 58 days after he was apprehended in Cambodia.

Korea's National Police Agency said the 27-year-old suspect arrived via Incheon International Airport this morning. He was nabbed by police in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 14, and the Korean police has been working with the local authorities to ensure that the suspect is sent here as quickly as possible within the boundaries of the law.

Another suspect aged 26 was captured in Jeongeup, South Jeolla Province in May and indicted for murder last month. A manhunt is underway for the third 39-year-old suspect, who remains at-large.

The three are accused of murdering the Korean traveler, 34, and abandoning his body in Pattaya in early May. His body was found in a reservoir in the Thai city, inside a black plastic container filled with cement.

The victim was last witnessed at a nightclub in Bangkok on May 2, where the suspects got acquainted with him. He was drugged and dragged to Pattaya, during which he woke up and the suspects murdered him in a struggle.

The suspects cut off all 10 of his fingers, possibly with the intent of making identification difficult.

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 ransom on May 7, by which date the victim is presumed to have already been dead.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)