Couple arrived in Thailand when Ms Liew Lili was already 6 months pregnant. The man has admitted the murder to the police. He confessed to strangling his wife after an extremely violent quarrel over their finances and the nationality for passport purposes of their child.
A Taiwanese man who arrived with his wife to live in Thailand in August last year was arrested on Sunday and charged with her murder following the discovery of the woman’s body stuffed into a small travel case after it was washed ashore onto a beach in Chonburi two days earlier.
On Sunday last, Thai police in Sri Racha performed a crime reenactment of a grisly murder and disposal of a young woman’s body after arresting the murderer earlier that day at a rented apartment in the area. The man was the woman’s husband and the father of the couple’s 3-month-old child.
This followed the discovery by a Thai naval officer from the nearby base on Friday, only two days before. The sailor made the shocking discovery when he saw the back of the concealed body of a woman protruding from a small red and black travel case which was swept ashore by the waves on Bang Phra Beach.
Police revealed photos of the dead body in the case to the public to identify the woman
The woman was later identified after police took photographs of distinctive tattoos on her body and made them public. A friend came forward to identify her.
She was a 33-year-old Chinese national Liew Lili who had arrived in Thailand with her Taiwanese husband 38-year-old Lu Chu Yang only in August last year.
6 months pregnant at the time, she gave birth to a child at a local hospital in Thailand in October, three months ago. The couple ran a clothing business together.
Finances and the nationality of their child led to man’s deadly fury at his Chinese wife
These two matters were factors in her murder last week at the feverish hands of her husband. On Wednesday last, the woman was brutally murdered by her husband after what he told police was a particularly violent quarrel.
Mr Lu told police that the couple had been arguing regularly for some time over the deteriorating finances of their business and the question of the nationality for passport purposes of their newborn child.
Good detective work led police to Mr Yu and left him with no option but to own up to the crime
Mr Lu was arrested by police on Sunday after they found CCTV footage at a local hardware store where he purchased cords and tape found on the body of his dead wife in the Rip Curl bag.
He quickly admitted to the crime and his efforts to dispose of the body which is a separate criminal offence.
On Sunday evening, he demonstrated to police how he had thrown the body containing his young wife with her back partially exposed, into the sea near the beach where it was later found.
Police forensics examined the body on Friday night after it was isolated and retrieved from the beach
When police and forensic specialists examined the body after it was found on Friday, they found the body of a young woman wearing a camouflage shirt, black shorts and white trainers.
The body lay on the beach for hours after being discovered as police cordoned off the scene. She had a red tattoo in a Chinese style on her arm and a black too on her ankle.
Charged with the intentional murder of his wife
The Taiwanese man has been held in custody at Sri Racha police station and has been charged with the murder of his wife. Police have confirmed that both the Chinese and Taiwanese embassies in Thailand have been notified of the situation.’
Further reading:
Police raid on Saraburi factory on Christmas Eve saw owner and henchman arrested for murder
Murder of a Bangkok prostitute shows how Thailand must deal with violence against women
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