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BANGKOK, THAILAND - A 31-YEAR-OLD Thai man was arrested over the killing and attempted rape of a Swedish tourist last weekend on the resort isle of Phuket, police said.
Akradet Tankae was arrested in the southern province of Ranong early on Wednesday after his relatives contacted police and said they would turn him over, they said.
Akradet is a sea gypsy, part of a nomadic community that wanders across Thai and Myanmar islands in the Andaman Sea.
He had fled to Myanmar to avoid arrest, but his father convinced him to return to Thailand and turn himself in, Phuket's provincial police commander Decha Budnampetch said.
'He was arrested at 1am and initially confessed that he did it alone,' Decha said.
'He said he wanted to rape her, but when she resisted, he attacked her,' Decha said.
Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 27, was stabbed to death in broad daylight on Saturday when she left her bungalow to take a swim.
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