POLICE are closing in on a Spanish man suspected of murdering and dismembering his compatriot now that his girlfriend and alleged accomplice has been detained.

Surin resident Pridsana Saenubon, 22, was questioned yesterday by local police and admitted being the girlfriend of Spaniard Artur Princep Segarra, who is wanted by police in connection with the murder of David Bernat, another man from Spain.

The woman told police interrogators that Segarra came to live with her in Surin’s Muang district on January 31. She said that he fled on his motorcycle on Friday evening after they both visited a local karaoke lounge.

She noticed people at the venue looking at Segarra suspiciously after they saw his image on television during a news programme. Pridsana told police that she had known him for more than six months ago while working in Bangkok. But the woman maintained she was unaware Segarra was linked to the murder, and she denied any involvement with the case. Police took her to Bangkok later yesterday to help with further inquiries.

The suspect’s getaway vehicle, a Honda motorcycle, was found abandoned at a market near the Chong Chom border checkpoint in Surin, which crosses to Cambodia.

Police General Panya Mamen, who heads the investigation team, said yesterday that police were questioning a number of key witnesses in the case.

Police were also sent to examine places believed to have been used by the suspects, as well as for detaining and dismembering the victim, Panya said. Surin Superintendent Pol Colonel Hassapong Termsiritangkanobol said yesterday that Pridsana said she had returned to her hometown recently with the suspect. They had seen each other in Bangkok, where she often accompanied him for nightlife outings. Last week, body parts were found washed up at the banks of the Chao Phraya in different locations, in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani. DNA tests revealed that the body parts belonged to the same man, who was later identified as Bernat.

Segarra allegedly received Bt37 million from Bernat’s account in a Singaporean bank and later withdrew the money from ATMs in different locations in Bangkok and other provinces, police said.

Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn said yesterday that police had searched the suspect’s house in Bangkok’s Ramkhamkaeng area and found some “very useful and important evidence”. He declined to identify the evidence.

A police source said that among the items found at the suspect’s house were saw blades, knife, duct tape. However, there were no traces of blood there.

Panya yesterday chaired a meeting of the investigation team at the Metropolitan Police headquarters.

He said Bernat was detained and tortured before being killed and dismembered. He said many people were involved in the ATM withdrawals of his money. The victim’s four friends – two foreign men and two Thai women -met with investigators yesterday.

Border Patrol and Immigration police in Sa Kaew, another province bordering Cambodia, have been asked to help with the hunt for the suspect. More checkpoints were set up along the border areas and local residents were asked to inform the authorities whenever they spot any suspect.