Swiss woman murdered in Phuket

[reader]

From  Bangkok Post

PHUKET: Police had no suspect yet in the murder of a Swiss woman tourist by a waterfall in Phuket, national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said on Friday afternoon.

Pol Gen Suwat went to the southern island province on Friday with a large team of experienced detectives and forensic experts from Bangkok to head the investigation.

Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, 57, deputy protocol chief of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, was found murdered at Ao Yon waterfall in tambon Vichit of Muang district in Phuket on Thursday afternoon. Police said she had been dead for about two days. 

The police chief said he brought forensic science and forensic medicine experts from Bangkok, as well as experienced detectives from the Central Investigation Bureau, the Crime Suppression Division, Provincial Police Region 8, the Tourist Police and the Immigration Bureau.

"Big teams have been deployed for a thorough investigation. We have lots of homework to do. We will open an operations centre here at Vichit police station and work around the clock until the culprit is arrested," Pol Gen Suwat said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2161243/no-suspect-in-swiss-womans-murder

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Excerpt from The Thai Enquirer

Personal documents revealed that Sauvian-Weisskopf arrived in Phuket on a flight from Singapore on July 13, as part of the Phuket Sandbox, and was traveling alone. Swiss media reported that she was a member of the country’s diplomatic service. 

[Ruthrieston]

They are probably a little short on Cambodian and Burmese workers to blame this one on, and they definitely won't want it to be another tourist who is guilty of this heinous crime. But the "police" force in Thailand are probably short of people to get tea money out of these days so maybe they are bored and might pretend to do some actual investigation. Duh.

[TMax]

At least they got him, I like the bit that says intensive interrogation.

PHUKET: Police have arrested a 27-year-old Thai man who has reportedly confessed to the murder of a Swiss tourist, two days after her body was found at a local waterfall.

The confession followed an intensive interrogation of the man, who had gone to the site to collect wild orchids, Thai media reported.

Arrest made in murder

[Londoner]

I think that's "invasive" rather than "intensive" interrogation.

[PeterRS]

I know nothing about the case beyond what i read in the media. But should I find it strange that a 27 year old Thai male out to collect wild orchids was aroused by any 57 year old woman? The blurry photo of the arrested man in the Phuket Daily News looks like he is around 164 cms in height and has a full head of fluffy hair. The photo of the man on the motorcycle in the Bangkok Post photo looks taller with hair having receded slightly at the temples. Not that this proves anything. Merely an observation.

A South China Morning Post description of the incident states the woman was swimming below the waterfall. It adds she was "partially clothed". Her purse had been robbed of 300 baht which according to the police the suspect used to buy "drugs, drinks and phone repairs." If you have what is clearly quite a large motorbike, after paying for phone repairs, how much would be left over for booze and drugs? Again something seems a bit odd here.

Yet one more oddity is that the Ton Ao Yon waterfall is not well known, it's hard to find and very difficult to access. Several websites also state the pathways are confusing and you need good shoes to avoid sharp rocks.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3144249/thai-police-arrest-suspect-killing-swiss-woman-island