Overview
- The Supreme Court affirmed lower-court convictions for robbery-murder, abandonment of a body, fraud and attempted extortion.
- Sentences were set at life for a 28-year-old, 30 years for a 40-year-old and 25 years for a 27-year-old, with 10 years of electronic monitoring to follow any release.
- According to court records, the victim was drugged with sleeping pills, assaulted and strangled in May 2024, then placed in a barrel and dumped in a reservoir in Thailand.
- Investigators determined the trio withdrew funds using the victim’s phone and attempted to extort money from his family by posing as the victim.
- Authorities reported the group had engaged in overseas voice phishing and scouted Korean travelers via open chat rooms, and arrests were made in Cambodia, Vietnam and South Korea through international cooperation.