Aung Tun Tun, 25, was taken into custody by police in Kra Buri District, in the northern part of Ranong, north of Phuket, yesterday, Phuket City Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Rungrit Rattanapakdee told The Phuket News this morning (July 8).
“I was informed by the Pak Chan Police in Kra Buri District that they had caught Myanmar national Aung Tun Tun, also as known as “Dam” or “Man”. The man, 25 years old, was wanted on Phuket arrest warrant No. 169/2019, dated July 1, 2019,” Col Rungrit said.
The arrest warrant was issued for the murder of 28*-year-old Myanmar national Nan Pan Mar Lar, nicknamed “Cherry”, whose body was found on a trash pile beside a road near the Sam Kong Intersection on Friday, June 28. (See story here.)
Police identified Aung as the suspect after checking CCTV footage in the area which showed Aung driving a motorbike with Cherry as a passenger near the location where her body was found.
A post-mortem revealed that Cherry had been stabbed seven times: four times on the right side of her chest, once in the xiphoid process, once in the stomach and once in the right side of her body. (See story here.)
“Police asked Aung to show his alien registration card while he was walking by the side of Phet Kasem Rd, in Moo 1 Pak Chan, Kra Buri,” Col Rungrit said, adding that Aung was in hiding and working in in Ranong.
“He ran away, but the officers ran after him and eventually caught him,” Col Rungrit explained.
“After checking his ID card, police found that he was named on the arrest warrant. He was taken to the Pak Chan Police Station, then officers there informed Phuket City Police and arranged for him to be brought back to Phuket,” he said.
Aung has admitted to killing Cherry, Col Rungrit said
“During questioning, Aung explained that Cherry was his ex-partner. They had separated, and before the murder Aung met her to talk about parenting their two children because he knew that she already had a new partner,” Col Rungrit explained.
“They could not come to an agreement, leading to him stabbing her many times with a knife. Afterwards, he dragged her body to the trash pile under a tree. Then he fled to Myanmar and came back to Ranong to work as a rubber wood labourer. Now the suspect has been brought back to Phuket,” he said.
“The suspect has confessed to the murder, saying he became angry because they (Aung and Cherry) could not come to an agreement about parenting their children, and that she usually asked him for money.
“He has now been charged with murder and carrying a weapon in public. Police will conduct re-enactments of this case at three locations in Phuket today,” said Col Rungrit.
* Age now confirmed by passport