A Spanish man accused of killing a fellow national, whose body was chopped up and discarded in the Chao Phraya River late last month, has been put in solitary confinement at the Bangkok Remand Prison after a court on Wednesday approved his detention for 12 days.
Artur Segarra Princep, 37, allegedly murdered David Bernat, a 40-year-old consultant to a foreign company, dismembered the body and dumped the body parts into the river on Jan 30. The suspect was caught on Sunday evening in the Cambodian coastal town of Sihanoukville where he had checked into a guesthouse a few days earlier, and was later extradited to Thailand.
- Earlier report: Court denies bail
He was charged with premeditated murder and destroying and concealing a human body. Police Wednesday brought Mr Segarra before the Ratchada Criminal Court to seek his detention.
Investigators plan to interview 20 more witnesses and have to wait for the results of examinations of fingerprints and other evidence, the officers said.
Mr Segarra was sent to the Bangkok Remand Prison at 2.50pm, where he underwent documentation and a medical check-up.
Prison director Ayut Sinthoppan said the suspect was put in solitary confinement to better enable monitoring. The cell was equipped with CCTV cameras for around-the-clock observation. Psychiatrists will be sent to talk to him.
Meanwhile, sources said the suspect still insisted he did not know the slain man. He also refused to talk about saw blades and other evidence found in his property. The investigation found Mr Segarra ordered saw blades from a store in the Rama IX area on Jan 15. The goods were delivered on Jan 17.
Police believe extortion was a motive behind the murder. Bernat was reported missing from his apartment, Nantiruj Tower, in Klong Toey district on Jan 20 after he was last seen on CCTV footage riding a motorcycle with Mr Segarra from his apartment. The money trail showed two 37 million baht wire transfers from Bernat's account in Singapore to Mr Segarra's account.