Norwegian arrested over murder charges
Norwegian expat Stein Havard Dokset was taken into court custody yesterday over allegations of murdering his exgirlfriend Rungnapa Suktong.
The 50yearold also faces the charges of hiding a corpse and possessing a firearm without permission after a Tuesday night raid at his home turned up an automatic handgun registered under Rungnapa’s name.
Police are waiting for DNA test results on skeletal remains and tissues resembling human flesh found in a safe inside Dokset’s home to see if they belong to Rungnapa, who has been missing for three years.
In an earlier interview, Dokset admitted that he had pushed his ex down the stairs and that she had died from head injuries. He also confessed that he had tried to hide the body by cutting it up and flushing pieces down the toilet.
Provincial police chief Pol MajGeneral Chonnasit Watthanawarangkool said so far, five witnesses have provided their testimonies and that initial tests showed that the DNA of the human tissue found was very close to that of Rungnapa’s mother.
Meanwhile, Phuket Gazette quoted police as saying that Dokset was already being tried for defrauding a Swedish man of more than Bt800,000.
LtColonel Boonlert Onklang said a Swedish man identified as Jan had filed a formal complaint against the suspect on August 4, 2009. In the complaint, Jan accused Dokset of defrauding him out of 68,000 Norwegian krone, which at that time was valued at about Bt318,240.
“Jan said he had asked Dokset to look after this money and another Bt500,000 because he knew the suspect had a safe in his house.
“But when he asked for his money back, Dokset denied ever being given the cash,” he said.
After being arrested on Tuesday over murder charges, Dokset was taken to court to acknowledge all the charges.
“Two witnesses testified that Jan did give the money to Dokset,” Boonlert said.
The Gazette was not able to confirm the allegation.
In the raid on Dokset’s luxury villa in Kata on Tuesday night, police discovered grisly remains of what is believed to be the body of Rungnapa inside a safe in the downstairs bathroom.
Police have yet to disclose whether the safe contained any money or other valuables.
