Cha Cheol-nam, a Chinese national in his 50s suspected of killing two people and seriously injuring two others, is escorted by police to the Siheung Police Station in Siheung, about 30 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Monday. (Yonhap)
Cha Cheol-nam, a Chinese national in his 50s suspected of killing two people and seriously injuring two others, is escorted by police to the Siheung Police Station in Siheung, about 30 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Monday. (Yonhap)

A man suspected of killing two people and seriously injuring two others has told police he murdered the victims over 30 million won ($21,500) he claims he had been owed, according to police Tuesday.

The Chinese national of Korean ethnicity in his 50s, identified as Cha Cheol-nam, made the claim during police questioning after being apprehended Monday evening in Siheung, about 30 kilometers southwest of Seoul.

Cha told police he had planned the crime after he had not been paid back for about 30 million won he had lent in total to a Chinese national in his 50s and his brother since 2013.

He killed the first victim with a blunt weapon at his home in Siheung on Saturday after inviting him in for a drink and went to the brother's home, about 200 meters away, to kill the second victim with a blunt weapon later that day.

Cha left the victims' bodies at the crime scenes and had been on the run after allegedly stabbing a female owner of a convenience store Monday morning. He stabbed another man in his 70s, known to be the owner of the building of his home, later that afternoon at a park about 1.3 km away from the store.

Cha reportedly told police that the stabbings were not premeditated. Police plan to file for a warrant to extend his detention on charges of murder later in the day.

Cha, who entered South Korea on an F4 visa in 2012, was found to have maintained close relations with the brothers. He reportedly often worked as a day laborer and did not maintain a steady job, living off of money he earned overseas in the past. (Yonhap)