Later Vichat and Pairote were to tell police during an alleged confession that they had wanted money and sex. When arrested, the two still had the camera they had allegedly stolen from Cheree and had apparently brazenly used it to take their own photographs. According to police, Vichat said in the letter that he did not want to spend years in prison and intended to take his own life. Pairote was also reportedly considering suicide. In accordance with Thai police practice, the teenagers were taken to the murder scene to re-enact their allegedcrime.
Police say both men have expressed remorse.
However, one officer said he believed they felt more sorry for themselves than for their victim. In Thailand, complaints have been mounting over the ineffectiveness of the country's under-resourced tourist police. Two years ago, a research company said in a report that more concerted action was needed to deal with criminals who preyed on tourists. There has been a growth of violent foreign gangs operating in Thailand, mainly comprising Chinese, Middle Easterners, North Africans and Koreans. All the tourists, who had been picked up at Bangkok's international airport in unlicensed taxis, were stabbed and robbed over an eight-month period.