A 27-year-old man, the alleged killer in a Nonthaburi condominium murder case, was apprehended on Friday in the southern province of Chumphon, according to a police source.
The man, identified only as Mr Phurinat, was arrested around 1pm by officers from the Provincial Police Region 1's Investigation Division at a house in Muang district.
Mr Phurinat is the prime suspect in the murder of Paisarn Thong-on, 54, whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in his condominium room in Ngam Wong Wan area on last Sunday.
According to the source, the body was found five days after he was killed.
Footage from the condo's CCTV camera revealed that at around 10pm on May 20, the victim was with Mr Phurinat in the elevator before heading to the deceased's room where he lived alone.
An investigation showed the suspect left the condo around 4am the next day with a large green bag.
He then took a taxi to a shopping centre nearby.
The suspect was reported to have purchased gold bars valued at over 800,000 baht using the deceased's credit cards and ID, telling the shopkeeper he had just undergone facial surgery.
The suspect was later captured on CCTV in Pattaya wearing a hoodie and face mask along the beach.
He was reported to have checked in at a hotel and stayed there until Tuesday.
He later took a taxi from Pattaya to Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
The taxi driver told police that the suspect, who posed as a Hong Kong tourist and only communicated in English, paid her 4,000 baht for the trip.
From Hua Hin, the suspect was reported to have travelled to Surat Thani and then Chumphon where he was apprehended, the source said.
During questioning, the suspect said he had known Paisarn for about a year as a partner in an import business.
The motive for the killing was said to be a business conflict.
