SURAT THANI: The neighbour of a nurse who was found strangled to death in her dormitory room on Koh Samui has been arrested at an abandoned pub and charged with her murder. Police say he claimed he just wanted her gold ring to pay off a gambling debt, but she resisted.
A team of police investigators apprehended Suwat Khunthong at the closed-down pub at village Moo 2 in tambon Bo Phut on the tourist island at 8.45am on Thursday, said Pol Col Denduang Thongsrisuk, chief of the Bo Phut police station. The pub was about 5 kilometres away from the crime scene.
Police suspected Suwat, 30, native of Trang’s Muang district, of killing Anchulee Wongmuang, 35, a nurse at a private hospital.
Anchulee Wongmuang, 35, was found strangled to death in her dormitory room on Wednesday morning. She was lying on her back on the bed, wearing only black underwear. Police found abrasions on the right side of her neck and signs of trauma to the centre of her head.
Her missing car was later found abandoned at the car park of a shopping mall along Chawaeng beach, about 4km from the dormitory.
Suwat, 30, a native of Trang, was initially sought on an arrest warrant issued by the Koh Samui Provincial Court for breaking, entering and theft. Officers took him for questioning at the Bo Phut police station, where a murder charge was added.
During questioning, Suwat said he was the boyfriend of a nursing assistant who lived next door to Anchulee. He knew the movements of the nurse and admitted to being the person captured on CCTV footage driving the victim’s car to the shopping mall.
Police said he admitted to having killed the nurse before fleeing with her car. He told investigators he had entered her room through the back door that was open while she was taking a rest. He claimed he just wanted to steal a gold ring to pay a gambling debt, but the nurse woke up and resisted, leading to a struggle.
During the fight, she bit his finger, prompting him to strangle her to death, according to the suspect.
A police source said investigators traced the suspect by tracking his mobile phone signal, which led them to the pub where he was found.
Suspect Suwat Khunthong was found hiding at a closed-down pub on Koh Samui where he previously worked. (Photo: Surat Thani police)
