Suspect, a student at same Busan university as victim, arrested on robbery-murder charges

[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A Vietnamese man in his 20s arrested on suspicion of killing a fellow Vietnamese student at his university in Busan told police he committed the crime because of gambling debts.

According to the Busan Jungbu Police Station on Friday, police have applied for an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified only as A, a Vietnamese national in his 20s, on robbery-murder charges. He was arrested Wednesday.

A is accused of breaking into the Jung-gu, Busan residence of fellow student B, a Vietnamese woman in her 20s, around 1 a.m. Wednesday, then threatening her with a bladed weapon and killing her when she returned home.

The two attended the same university in Busan and were acquainted, according to police.

An acquaintance who had been unable to reach B went to her home around lunchtime Wednesday and found her dead in the bathroom, then called police.

Police reviewed nearby closed-circuit television footage to identify A as the suspect and arrested him around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at a hospital in Sasang-gu, Busan, where he was receiving treatment for injuries sustained from the weapon used in the attack.

A told investigators he had run up debts through gambling and carried out the attack to steal money and valuables, according to News1. The amount of his gambling debts has not been confirmed.

A pre-warrant detention hearing for A is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Busan District Court.

"We are investigating A's gambling-related activities and the specific circumstances of the crime," a police official said.


jshan@heraldcorp.com