One of the three Korean suspects in the murder of a man dumped into a Pattaya reservoir in a barrel has denied involvement after being detained in South Korea.
The suspect is in his 20s. South Korean police have not released his name.
Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, a Metropolitan Police Bureau investigation chief, on Monday identified the detained man as Lee Roun.
Yonhap news agency reported that the man denied the allegation during questioning on Monday night. South Korean police would, however, apply for a warrant to formally arrest him, the report said.
The suspect was apprehended on Sunday at his residence in Jeongeup, a city in North Jeolla province in southwestern South Korea, after returning from Thailand last week. South Korean police tracked him from surveillance camera recordings before his arrest.
South Korea was working with Thai authorities in trying to locate the two other suspects, who remain at large, Yonhap added.
The trio are accused of murdering a man Thai police are confident was a Korean reported missing on May 3, when he was abducted by three men identified as South Koreans.
Police strongly believe the dead man was Roh Eui Jong. Investigators are waiting for DNA comparison results from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital after obtaining samples from his elder sister and father, according to Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.
Police tracked the three suspects from their car through CCTV footage after they allegedly snatched the missing Korean on May 3. They drove a rented pickup truck carrying a big plastic barrel to Map Prachan reservoir in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri, on the outskirts of Pattaya.
Security camera footage from May 3 showed one of the suspects buying a similar barrel at a plasticware shop. The barrel on the pickup was dropped into the reservoir on May 5, according to police, citing camera recordings.
Divers found the barrel on the bottom of the reservoir on Saturday evening. There was a man's body inside it, and the drum was topped up with concrete.