Police wait 13 years to get their man

A former municipal councillor sentenced to death in absentia for the murder of a wealthy Dutchman in Pattatya has been arrested in Phrae province after 13 years on the run.

Crime Suppression Division police arrested Anupong Suthani, 54, in tambon Wang Thong, in Muang district of the northern province on Tuesday, CSD commander Pol Maj Gen Jirabhob Bhuridej said yesterday.

Anupong was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Pattaya provincial court on Dec 21, 2007 in connection to the 2003 murder.

The former municipal councillor from Lang Suan in Chumphon had been convicted of killing Jules Odekerken, 49, from Holland, the owner of Quick News Pattaya and another foreign newspaper sold in Pattaya and Phuket.

He had been having an affair with the victim's 37-year-old Thai wife Marisa Prommana, 37. She, Anupong and her brother, Seksan Prommana, hatched the plot to get their hands on Odekerken's wealth estimated to be worth around 100 million baht, Pol Maj Gen Jirabhop said.

Anupong and Seksan beat Odekerken to death on Nov 16, 2003 and left his body on a garbage dump, Pol Maj Gen Jirabhop said.

Marisa and Seksan later confessed and were given life sentences, while Anupong skipped bail after denying any involvement.

Pol Col Nethi Wongkularb, who led the arrest team, said Anupong hid out in several provinces and changed his names to evade capture before police caught up with him.