Phuket Provincial Police Chief Inspector Col Akanit Danpitaksan led officers from Chalong Police Station to the rented home of German national Nico Papke, 35, in Soi Saiyuan, Rawai, at 7pm to place him under arrest for the murder of his Thai girlfriend, 35-year-old Pischa “Lek” Nampadung.
As police moved in, Papke cut his own throat with a cutter. He was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, where he is under watch by police officers and medical staff.
Papke reportedly remains conscious, but is unable to respond to questions, police said.
Police moved to arrest Papke after the body of Ms Pischa was identified this afternoon. Her body was found wrapped in blankets and bound with packing or insulation tape beside the road about 600 metres along the newly graded track leading into the jungle north of the cement factory on Muang Chaofa Rd. (See story here.)