The Phuket News - Wednesday, 3rd Aug 2011 12:55
PHUKET: Two Swedish men were arrested this evening (August 2), charged with the brutal murder of a Russian expat last night.
Tommy Viktor Söderlund and Johan Sebastian Ljung, both 26, were arrested at the Surin Sweet Hotel in Surin, where they had apparently gone into hiding after fatally stabbing Maxim Schantz, 25, at his home inside The Lantern housing development.
Both men confessed to the murder, saying it was a revenge attack after a business partnership turned sour, though they claimed they did not intend to kill Mr Schantz.
The three men had previously been part of a call centre scam operation in Pattaya.
In Febraury Mr Schantz apparently fell out with the group and left, taking with him a list of all their "customers" and delivering it to Pattaya police. That led to the arrest of Söderlund, who was later released on bail.
After a quick search of Facebook, Söderlund and Ljung found that Mr Schantz had moved to Phuket, and decided to pay him a visit.
It took them three weeks to track him down, but they eventually found him living in The Lantern in Koh Kaew, and moved into a house opposite.
When Mr Schantz returned home last night, the two men confronted him and tried to force him into their house.
Mr Schantz resisted, leading Ljung to fatally stab him in the throat in the ensuing struggle.
“It was an accident,” Söderlund told police.
The two then fled the scene, commandeering a motorbike during their escape.
They initially checked into the Andaman Place Hotel in Thalang District, before moving to Surin Sweet Hotel, where they were arrested. A blood-stained T-shirt belonging to Ljung was found in their room.
The two men will appear in court soon.
