Two held in alleged murder of Frenchman over motorcycle

Following the discovery of 42-year-old Eric Dremeau's body in a canal in an orchard in Pak Kret district on Thursday, police yesterday apprehended Thai-Iranian Kamolpat "Mark" Sukkharom, 22, at his Bangkok home.

Thai-Belgian Jim Birksulan, 21, who had met with the victim over an ongoing deal to sell Jim's Big Bike motorcycle, worth Bt252,000, was arrested on Friday and said he had killed the man in self-defence.

Mark told police that he saw Jim kill Dremeau after the pair became involved in argument. He said the victim had agreed to buy the 1,000cc bike from Jim in May and paid Bt200,000 up front. Jim, however, had been unable to obtain a licence-plate registration for the bike. Dremeau and Jim met Wednesday at the Big C Chaeng Wattana Mall, where a woman was to complete the registration. Dremeau had brought the outstanding Bt52,000 to pay Jim, Mark said.

Mark said Jim paid him Bt1,000 to pick him and Dremeau up at the mall in his car, and that Jim told him to drive into an alley, where he and Dremeau seemingly had a heated argument in French.

The two got out of the car and continued talking for 40 minutes, according to Mark, before Jim shot Dremeau in the head once with a 9mm pistol and told Mark to put him inside the trunk. They went to get a shovel from Jim's home before returning to the alley, where Jim shot the man two more times in the face to make sure he was dead, after Mark heard noises coming from the trunk.

After abandoning their attempt to bury the victim, they dumped the Frenchman's body and belongings in the canal and Jim took the Bt52,000, Mark said.

While Mark was re-enacting the crime, Jim reportedly confessed to Nonthaburi deputy chief Colonel Apichat Reunthip that he shot Dremeau in self-defence after the man tried to attack him, then hid the pistol in an attic in his home. Police then took the two to re-enact the crime again.

Police later searched Jim's bedroom, where they found 50 BB guns (air guns), and the attic, where they found another 100 BB guns, an AKA rifle with one magazine, the 9mm pistol used in the alleged murder with two magazines, and Bt51,290 cash.

The two men were charged with conspiring to murder another person, stealing cash and disposing of the body to conceal the crime.