Monk Admits Killing Tourist

A drug-addicted Buddhist monk was charged with murder and robbery Sunday after he confessed killing a British tourist who had been missing for more than a month.

Police arrested the monk soon after finding the body of Johanne Masheder in a ravine near a Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi, 70 miles west of Bangkok, and said they are questioning three others.

The monk, Yodchat Suapoo, 25, confessed killing Masheder after robbing her of a camera and the equivalent of $24, Tourist Police Lt. Col. Apichit Thianpermpool said in a telephone interview.

Apichit said Yodchat is an amphetamine addict who said he had used the money to buy drugs.

The 23-year-old lawyer from Wincle, England, had arrived in Thailand in November on the last leg of a solo trip around the world.