Beijing: Nine Thai army men have surrendered and confessed to killing 13 Chinese sailors in Thailand earlier this month, the Thai police chief has said.
The victims onboard two cargo ships were shot dead by a group of gunmen Oct 5 in a section of the Mekong river that forms the border of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Their bodies were found and salvaged from the river in northern Thailand later, China Daily reported.
The suspects were servicemen of the Third Military Command of the Thai army, which guards the northern border of Thailand, said police chief Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong.
Priewpan, however, said the army and the government were not behind the killing. He said the servicemen acted on the orders of some local tycoons. (IANS)