Pattaya police arrest suspect in Russians' murder case

Mar 2, 2007, 2:31 GMT

Bangkok - Thai police have arrested a prime suspect in the murder of two Russian women near Pattaya beach resort last weekend, media reports said Friday.

Police arrested Anuchit Lamlert, 24, Thursday night, after his former girlfriend identified him as the murderer of Tatiana Tsimfer, 30, and Liubov Svirkova, 25, on February 24.

The two Russian women found dead, sitting in beach chairs on Jomtien beach, adjacent to Pattaya, their bodies riddled with bullets. There was no evidence of robbery.

Anuchit, who has a long criminal record in the resort, has confessed to killing the two women to rob them, but police are dubious.

'I still don't believe it,' said Assawin Kwanmuang, the regional police chief. 'According to our investigation the motive behind this murder was not robbery,' Assawin told the KomChadLuek online news service.

Police are pursuing a theory that Anuchit was hired to shoot the two women by the Thai wife of a Russian national working in Pattaya who had befriended one of the ladies.

The brutal murder has tarnished Pattaya's reputation among Russian tourists, who were the resort's largest overseas market last year.

Between January to June, some 274,633 Russians visited the resort, up 38 per cent compared with the same period in 2005, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) figures.

Chinese tourists came second among foreigners visiting Pattaya, with 211,866 visitors during the first six months.

An estimated 4 million foreign tourists visited Pattaya last year, making it one of Thailand's most successful beach resorts.

Pattaya, Thailand's oldest beach resort situated only 105 kilometres east of Bangkok, is best known for its three S's - sun, sand and sex.