Taiwanese tourist found shot dead on bypass

Police suspect dispute over illegal business

PATTAYA: -- A Taiwanese tourist was shot dead outside the Chon Buri Flying Club on the Chon Buri-Pattaya bypass route in Si Racha district early yesterday. The body of Kung Tzu Wei, 43, was found under the pedestrian overpass opposite the bypass in Ban Huay Kum, tambon Bang Phra, around 7.30am. He had two fatal gunshot wounds to his right temple.

He was found with his passport, a mobile phone, 4,000 baht and NT$8,100 in cash.

A flying club guard told police he heard a car pull over near the pedestrian overpass around 3am yesterday. Some people left the car and talked before two gunshots were heard.

Pol Lt-Col Somsak Wamuk of the Si Racha police station said the tourist had called his sister, who was on holiday in Chiang Mai.

The sister, whose name was not given, told police that she and Kung arrived in Thailand together on April 24.

Halfway through the trip, Kung ran out of cash and asked his sister to lend him 100,000 baht before travelling to Pattaya with two Thai friends on May 7.

She said they were northeasterners who had worked in Taiwan.

Kung was heading back to Bangkok to catch a return flight to Taipei yesterday morning, before he was found dead.

Pol Lt-Gen Jongrak Chuthanont, Provincial Police Bureau 2 commissioner, said the Thai friends are the prime suspects and police are searching for them.

The killing was probably motivated by conflict over an illegal business.

Some of the statements given by Kung's relatives did not add up.

His trip may not have been entirely for pleasure as he went to various locations in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and the border area.

--Bangkok Post 2006-05-21

That's a fair distance from Pattaya.

Do we include this murder in the Pattaya body count?

Add it to the "Dead Drug Dealer", list. which with any luck will one day surpass the UK Illegal Immigrant tally which has more noughts than Bill Gates's current account.