<B>SURAT THANI:</B> Police Monday questioned the wife of a suspect in the murder of a Hungarian businessman whose body was found in Kathu, Phuket last week, saying they obtained useful information from her.
Duangjit Chuanjit, 40, was suspected of being an accomplice in the murder of 47-year-old Peter Reisz, who was a business partner with her common-law Hungarian husband, Moshe David, 38.
Police suspect Mr David may have killed his friend. An arrest warrant on charges of premeditated murder and concealing a body was issued for him on Sunday.
Mrs Duangjit, who lives on Koh Samui, Surat Thani, with her husband, denied any involvement in Reisz’s death.
She admitted Mr David and Reisz had been close friends for a long time but lately they were having a conflict in their real estate business. She said her husband arrived home in a white Toyota Hilux Vigo belonging to Reisz on Nov 28, four days after his friend went missing. He said he drove the pickup from Phuket, where he was last seen with the deceased.
Mr David advertised the pickup for sale at 500,000 baht, Mrs Duangjit said, and left home on Nov 30. She has not been able to contact him since. Police inspected the vehicle and found it carried a fake licence plate.
According to police, Reisz filed a complaint with Samui police that Mr David threatened to kill him. He then moved to a rented house in Phuket’s Thalang district on Nov 16 and was reported missing on Nov 24. He was spotted with Mr David on that day.
Crime Investigation Provincial Police Region 6 commander Maj Gen Weerasak Meenawanich said investigators had contacted immigration police and concerned agencies to stop the suspect from fleeing the country.
Mr David and Reisz were involved with a group of 8-10 businessmen who played a key role in the real estate business on Samui island. The murder was believed to have involved a conflict in a land sale deal worth 15 million baht.
Police believe there were at least three people, one of them thought to be a Thai, involved in the killing, said Maj Gen Weerasak.
Police also took Mr David’s Hungarian friend in for questioning on Monday but did not disclose further details.