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Suspect in tourist couple's slayings in Thailand surrenders

A Thai policeman suspected of shooting dead two British tourists gave himself up and confessed yesterday after nearly a month on the run, police said.

Sergeant Somchai Visetsing, 39, fled into Myanmar after the shootings and surrendered to Thai officials at the border accompanied by his lawyer, they said.

Vanessa Arscott, 24, and her boyfriend Adam Lloyd, 25, were shot and killed on Sept. 9 at Kanchanaburi -- close to the famous Bridge on the River Kwai -- after a row with the off-duty officer at a restaurant he part-owned.

"The suspect told us he had been attacked first by the victim and he couldn't fight back so he used his gun to shoot them," regional police commander Lieutenant Colonel Chaiyant Maklamthong told Thai television network iTV.

Police said the suspect surrendered at the Three Pagoda Pass on the Thai-Myanmar border at 6:00am and was being held in Kanchanaburi.

Somchai became the key suspect for the killings after he was seen arguing with the Britons in the early hours of the morning in the quiet tourist town. Somchai fought with Lloyd and allegedly shot him several times after leaving the restaurant where the couple had been drinking, according to police.

After Lloyd was shot, police allege Somchai followed Arscott in his car, ran her down and shot her twice. Police said the motive for the attack was unclear. Police searched his car and found bloodstains and a bullet similar to those used in the killings.

His wife drove him to a nearby hospital hours after the shooting because of injuries to his face.

Somchai, looking tired, handcuffed and wearing a green T-shirt, was paraded in front of the media at Kanchanaburi police headquarters, where he rejected press queries that he shot the couple because of a love triangle.

"I don't know anything about a love affair, and I don't know either of the victims," he told iTV before a press conference attended by British diplomats.

No confession by the policeman was aired.

Police said that after the shootings, Somchai travelled 200km by bus from his home to the Myanmar border where he walked across and stayed with friends.

Last month Somchai had contacted his relatives to tell them he wanted to give himself up and they were preparing to offer bail, police said.

The arrest coincided with a scheduled visit to the area by British officials yesterday to check on the progress of the case, with a four-person team from the British embassy in Bangkok.

"We are very pleased at the assistance we have got from the Thai authorities throughout the case and expressions of support we have got from the prime minister down," an embassy spokesman said.
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