Police say jealousy behind Koh Samui murder, 3 charged

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested three Myanmar workers who allegedly conspired to murder a female compatriot whose body was found at a viewpoint on Koh Samui on Monday.

Surat Thani police chief Pol Maj General Apichat Boonsriroj said the two women and one man confessed to the crime. Their motive stemmed from jealousy over the 22-year-old victim’s reportedly seeing another man, he said.

The suspects told police they lured the victim to the beachfront viewpoint and used duct tape to cover her nose and mouth, to prevent her from crying for help, but she suffocated and died. The three undressed the victim to make it appear she’d been raped and murdered, before fleeing.

— Phuket Gazette Editors