Thai police detain man over death of Swiss tourist

[August 07, 2021]    BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police on Saturday said that a man had been taken into custody for the death of a Swiss tourist on the island of Phuket earlier this week.

"In Phuket, we have good news. It's finished," police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk told reporters.

He said a suspect had been detained, but did not give further details when responding to questions from reporters.

The body of a 57-year-old Swiss tourist was found on Thursday near a waterfall on the resort island, with signs she had died of unnatural causes, officials said on Friday.

The woman arrived on the island on July 13 under the "Phuket Sandbox" scheme, a pilot project to allow in vaccinated foreign tourists to help revive a sector decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suspect is a 27-year-old native of Phuket, two police sources told Reuters.

A news conference with more details of the investigation is scheduled for Sunday.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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