A military source said the suspect was being held at Ingkhayut Army base under the terms of martial law.

He said the suspect had denied being involved in the murder-theft, but admitted to laying fresh concrete on the floor at the scene of the incident that same day, apparently to conceal bloodstains. He dared not inform authorities out of fear for his own safety.

Investigators had determined that the truck was stolen from a mosque in Ban Mai, a village in Nongchik district’s Tambon Kohpoh in Pattani.

Witnesses told police they’d seen four men surrounding the pickup before the owner was killed and his body taken away in another pickup. Despite the covering of fresh concrete, bloodstains were found at the spot identified by the witnesses, the military source added.

Investigators believe the detained man knows the identities of the four attackers.