A young Myanmar man wanted for the murder of former Thai ambassador to Denmark Vichit Chitvimarn, stabbed to death at his Chatuchak home, fled Thailand the next day, crossing the border into Myanmar in Chiang Rai province.
Details of alleged events before, during and after the murder were released by police on Monday.
Pol Maj Gen Attapol Anusit, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 2, said the sole suspect at this stage was Sai Myat Moe, aged 19 years, a Myanmar national.
Sixty-three-year-old Vichit was found dead with three stab wounds to his chest inside his residence at a housing estate on Vibhavadi Rangsit 20 Road on Sunday.
The victim reportedly moved in to the house on Sept 9 and lived there alone. The suspect had been working for him at the house since Sept 19.
Pol Maj Gen Attapol said the suspect was a house painter. CCTV footage showed him arriving at the victim’s home in the housing estate on Sept 25. Vichit opened the gate and let him in.
Three days later the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim on the first floor of the house. Vichit fled to the second-floor toilet, where his attacker threatened him with a knife, forcing the former envoy to give up his ATM card access number.
After learning the PIN, the suspect allegedly stabbed the victim repeatedly, killing him. The suspect then allegedly stole whatever valuables he could find in the house and fled the housing estate in a taxi.
Vichit's mobile phones and tablet computers were missing from the house. Hundreds of thousands of baht were later withdrawn from Vichit's account at an ATM in a shopping mall in Lat Phrao area.
The suspect then went to the Mo Chit bus terminal and caught a bus north to Chiang Rai province, which borders Myanmar.
Pol Maj Gen Attapol said Chiang Rai immigration police reported that the suspect crossed into Myanmar through the Mae Sai checkpoint at 7.22am on Sept 29.