An itinerant farm laborer who confessed to killing a 75-year-old Cambodian woman near a sugarcane plantation in southern Thailand and stealing her jewelry has been detained in Battambang province’s Bavel City, police said.
Em Ran, 47, confessed on Monday morning to killing Sem Nim on the evening of August 14 and stealing 2,000 baht, or about $58, from her, as well as a necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring, said Sok Dy, a bureau chief in the provincial department of justice.
“The victim was found hacked, stabbed and beaten to death,” Mr. Dy confirmed.
Since the murder occurred in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, authorities lack evidence to prosecute the crime beyond Ms. Ran’s confession, he said.
Military police in Battambang’s Bavel district first received a complaint on Saturday from Sem Nim’s son-in-law, Chin Van Thoern, who accused Ms. Ran of the murder.
Ms. Ran had known the victim for some time, and often traveled to Thailand to work in cassava fields and sugarcane fields, Mr. Dy said.
She was being held on Monday at the military police headquarters in Bavel City awaiting further questioning, he added.
