Pensioner Bearach Beataidh, from Northern Ireland, is being interviewed by police after the death of sex worker Duangta Khampongsom, 45, who was found in his hotel room
A British tourist is under investigation after a Thai sex worker was found decomposing in his hotel room for several days.
Bearach Beataidh, 71, was last seen kissing Duangta Khampongsom, 45, as he took her to his guest house in Pattaya in eastern Thailand on December 18. Caretaker Prayoon Chinsai raised the alarm when he noticed a foul odour coming from the room.
When he knocked and no one answered, he used a spare key to open the door – only to find the woman’s half-naked body rotting on the bed. Police checked CCTV and spotted Bearach, from County Down, Northern Ireland leaving the room on December 22 -the same day Duangta was found.
Cops searched for the British pensioner and found him drinking at a bar along Jomtien Beach. He was said to have been dazed and confused when he was detained.
Police Captain Puttharak Sonkhamhan of the Pattaya City Police Station said officers are questioning Bearach further over his bizarre statements. He said: “The woman had been dead for at least three days. Her body had started to decay and bloat, giving off a foul smell throughout the room.
“She was wearing only denim shorts and nothing on her top half. An inspection of the room found no signs of a struggle or ransacking. It would be difficult not to notice she was dead as her body was already decomposing. There was also blood on the bed.”
Bearach claimed he had invited Duangta, a sex worker from a nearby bar, to stay in his room after she was reportedly assaulted by an unknown attacker on December 18.
CCTV footage obtained by police shows the Duangta in a black shirt and white cap walking with the tourist along the hotel corridor on December 18 evening.
He allegedly told police: “She kept vomiting and sleeping the whole time, but I did not think it was anything abnormal. I understood that she felt weak and exhausted. We last spoke on December 19.”
Bearach claimed he did not realise she had died ‘because there was no unusual smell’ in the room. He denied hurting or killing the deceased.
Duangta’s former co-worker Pim, 46, said: “Duangta had known the British man for less than two weeks. I don’t think he killed her, but I find it strange she died in his room.”
Duangta’s body was taken to the Bang Lamung Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Doctors have not clarified the cause of her death.
Police Captain Puttharak added: “We summoned the British man to the police station for further questioning. Forensic police are continuing to collect fingerprints and DNA because we do not believe his testimony. All CCTV is being checked.”
