Accomplice in 20s Extradited for Pattaya Drum Murder Case Faces Trial

An accomplice in the 'Thailand Pattaya Drum Barrel Murder Case', who was forcibly extradited from Cambodia to Korea, has been brought to trial.

The Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeongnam announced on the 2nd that it had indicted a man in his 20s, identified as A, on charges including robbery-murder, abandonment of a corpse, and attempted extortion.

Previously, A was accused of kidnapping and murdering a Korean tourist in his 30s, identified as B, together with two other Korean accomplices in Pattaya, Thailand, around May 3, and abandoning the body in a reservoir.

Immediately after the crime, around May 9, he fled to Cambodia but was apprehended in Phnom Penh five days later.

He was subsequently extradited to Korea on July 10, investigated by the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, and was arrested on July 12, two days later.

One of the accomplices, identified as C, also in his 20s, was arrested at a residence in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on May 12 and is currently on trial in custody, while another accomplice in his 30s, identified as D, remains at large.

A man in his 20s, an accomplice in the "Thailand Pattaya Drum Murder Case," who was forcibly repatriated from Cambodia to Korea, is heading to Changwon District Court for a detention warrant hearing.
Photo by Lee Seryoung

According to the prosecution, on the day of the incident, the group made B drink alcohol laced with drugs at a club in Thailand, then put the intoxicated B into a prepared vehicle and moved him to a reserved accommodation, which was the crime scene.

When the intoxicated B protested that the direction of travel was different, they strangled and beat him with their fists, resulting in his death.

After B died, the group transferred several million won from B's mobile phone account and stole the money. They then returned to the accommodation, placed B's body in a drum barrel, and abandoned it in a nearby reservoir.

C, who was brought to trial earlier, is currently on trial in custody and has denied all charges in two hearings held so far.

The court plans to combine the trials of A and C and proceed with them together.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.