Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Thai man charged with killing, robbing Swiss woman

Police in Thailand have charged a 27-year-old Thai man in the murder of a Swiss woman on the tourist island of Phuket

Via AP news wire
Sunday 08 August 2021 07:53 BST
Thailand Foreigner Dead
Thailand Foreigner Dead (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

A suspect in the death of a 57-year-old Swiss woman on Thailan ’s tourist island of Phuket was charged with murder and robbery, police said Sunday.

The suspect, Teerawat Thothip, a 27-year-old Thai man living in Phuket, confessed to the killing and even spoke by telephone at a police press conference to admit his guilt and describe the crime.

Investigators were able to trace the suspect using security camera footage, and during the interrogation he was found to have scratches and bruises on his body, said Police Maj. Gen. Nuntadech Yoi-nuan, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8.

The body of the Swiss woman, Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, was discovered Thursday at a secluded spot on the island. Swiss media reported she was a member of the country’s diplomatic service.

The suspect told reporters he went into a forest on Tuesday to try to find rare plants to sell, but was unsuccessful.

On his way back, he said he passed a waterfall and saw Sauvain-Weisskopf. He said he strangled her from behind, and that she resisted for a while before losing consciousness.

He then covered her with a black sheet, which was found nearby, took 300 baht ($9) from her backpack and threw her sneakers away. He said his motivation was because he had no money and no work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cause of death has not been confirmed, and an autopsy report has yet to be released by the authorities, said Kissana Phathanacharoen, a national police deputy spokesperson.

The incident has cast a pall over Thailand’s so-called Phuket Sandbox program to try and bring fully vaccinated foreign tourists to the popular destination, which has been struggling massively during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in