BANGKOK – Thai police have arrested an Australian man after the body of a 17-year-old girl was discovered in a suitcase, authorities said on June 27. The suspect, who denies involvement in the teenager’s alleged abduction and murder, was taken into custody after an interrogation, a police official in the resort city of Pattaya told AFP. Investigators were awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination and “other evidence” in the case before filing charges, the official said. The charges could include child abduction, murder, hiding
a corpse and “abduction of a minor for sexual purposes”, added the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity. Media reports said the 46-year-old suspect was apprehended on June 26 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where he was trying to purchase an air ticket to Perth in Australia. CCTV footage showed the suspect entering a condo in the seaside resort of Pattaya in the early hours of June 25 along with the 17-year-old Thai girl, according to the reports. He emerged from the building several
hours later, the reports said, carrying a large black suitcase which he then transported on the back of a motorbike. Police found the suitcase on June 26 near a railway track, discovering the victim’s body inside bearing signs of violence, local website Pattaya News reported. Thailand drastically cut the length of visa-free stays for tourists in May following a series of high-profile arrests of foreigners over drug offences, sex trafficking and operating unlicensed businesses. AFP
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