Two fishermen from Burma have been arrested on trawlers off Phangnga province for allegedly murdering a Thai woman a month ago.
Maung Sein, 20, was apprehended on board the fishing boat Phet Rattanakorn, and Kyaw Soe Win, 18, was arrested on the Thong Taem, sailing about 13 nautical miles off Phangnga on Friday night. Police from Ranong, Phangnga and Provincial Police Region 8 took part in the operation.
The two suspects were taken to Kura Buri district in the southern province on Saturday morning to face charges of murdering Orawee Samphaothong, 19, on 28 September in Ranong, police said.
The young woman was stabbed 17 times in an isolated alley in Muang district while walking to visit a school friend who lived about one kilometre from her house. Police found 200 baht in cash in her purse and a smartphone but no weapon.
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Pol Col Somchai Imchai, chief of the Muang police station in Ranong, said on 29 September that investigators believed there was a personal motive behind the attack, as there appeared to have been no attempt to rob the victim.
The two suspects had addresses in Muang district in Ranong, according to their non-Thai ID cards.
This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 24 October 2015.
