AFP, BANGKOK
Thai police have arrested an Australian man after the body of a 17-year-old girl was discovered in a suitcase, authorities said yesterday.The suspect, who denies involvement in the teenager’s alleged abduction and murder, was taken into custody after an interrogation, a police official said.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,” they added.News reports said the 46-year-old suspect was apprehended on Friday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where he was trying to purchase an airline ticket to Perth, Australia.
CCTV footage showed the suspect entering a condo in the seaside resort of Pattaya in the early hours of Thursday along with the 17-year-old Thai girl, reports said.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 Friday near a railway track, discovering the victim’s body inside of it bearing signs of violence, Pattaya News reported.Thailand drastically cut the length of visa-free stays for tourists last month following a series of high-profile arrests of foreigners over drug offencss, sex trafficking and operating unlicensed businesses.
