This photo, provided by the National Police Agency, shows one of suspects, second from right, involved in the Pattaya murder case, being escorted from the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Sept. 24, 2024. Yonhap

A court on Thursday sentenced three men accused of murdering a Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, to prison terms ranging from 25 years to life imprisonment.

The Changwon District Court sentenced two men, aged 28 and 40, to life imprisonment and 30 years in prison, respectively, and handed down a 25-year prison term for a 27-year-old accomplice on charges of robbery-murder and body abandonment.

The three men were indicted for murdering a Korean traveler in his 30s and abandoning his body in the Southeast Asian nation in early May.

They reportedly escorted the victim, who was drunk at the time, from a bar and forced him into a car, where they strangled and beat him, leading to his death.

Investigations found the defendants made a living off profit from voice phishing scams, and even threatened the victim's family members for money after destroying and abandoning his body at a reservoir.

Two of the suspects fled the scene after the crime and were later caught in Cambodia and Vietnam, respectively, and another was detained at his residence in the city of Jeongeup, 221 kilometers south of Seoul.

Earlier, the prosecution demanded the death penalty for the two main culprits and life imprisonment for the accomplice in the case.

The court said the two defendants who led the crime had shifted the blame or insisted on excuses instead of giving a sincere apology to the bereaved family members, citing it as a reason for the heavy punishment. (Yonhap)