A street in Pattaya at night. Photo courtesy of the Tourism Authority of Thailand
Police in Thailand have found the body of a missing South Korean tourist stuffed inside a black plastic container filled with cement in Pattaya, a popular nightlife hub.
The man was identified as Roh Eui Jong who entered Thailand as a tourist on April 30 and reportedly went missing then, Bangkok Post reported.
On May 7, his mother received a threatening phone call from a strange person, saying her son had been kidnapped and demanding her a ransom of 3 million Thai baht (US$82,000), Khaosod English news site reported.
She quickly contacted with the Korean Embassy in Thailand for help.
After receiving information from the embassy, Thai police stepped in for investigation.
Based on camera footage, police found Roh was escorted by two men into a car heading towards Pattaya at around 2 a.m. on May 3. The suspects changed their vehicle to a pickup truck and were then seen buying a black barrel at a plastic warehouse.
Police later traced the truck to where it was parked and discovered Roh’s body inside the plastic barrel in the reservoir late last week.
Police suspected Roh was kidnapped and murdered by three South Korean nationals.
One of the trio fled Thailand and returned to South Korea and was arrested in Jeongeup City earlier this week, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Two other suspects are being hunted by police.
