Roger Bullman went on the run after killing Amitpal Singh Bajaj in Thailand last August
A fugitive body builder wanted for choking to death a British father in a Thai hotel has revealed that he is prepared to hand himself in provided he can return to his native Norway to face justice.
Roger Bullman is at the centre of a global Interpol hunt after being charged for the murder of IT consultant Amitpal Singh Bajaj, who was staying in an adjoining room in a luxury hotel in Phuket last August.
Bullman, 54, fled Thailand just 24 hours after being granted bail following a hearing in September and has been on the run since.
Speaking from a secret location in Asia, where he is in hiding, Bullman said that he was prepared to return to Norway to stand trial and a possible prison sentence so that he could be near to his daughter and because he is more likely to get a fair hearing.
‘That’s just what I am thinking of now. I feel I have disappointed her so much,’ he added.
‘To come home and just be with my daughter. If I’m put in jail and things like that, it doesn’t matter. If only we are in the same country, and she can come to visit me.’
He admitted that he was determined to remain on the run because he is too afraid of the harsh prison conditions in Thailand, where he was due to stand trial and believed that the justice system there is against him.
Amitpal Singh Bajaj (pictured with his wife Bandhna) was brutally beaten to death in his hotel room in Phuket last year after getting into a row with Bullman in the next room over his singing
Mrs Bajaj has previously told how her husband died a hero when he fought off the naked stranger who got into their room – and saved her life and that of their two-year-old son, Veer
‘The alternative is so damn bleak. I do not want to turn myself in (to Thai authorities) because they have prepared such a big case against me now,’ he added.
‘They have increased the charge of violence with death, to murder, without my understanding. I was stabbed with a knife, and he was alive when I left the hospital, so I don’t understand it.’
Bullman, a burly 6ft 2in bodyguard and martial arts expert has been described by authorities as ‘dangerous’ and was last known to be in Vietnam.
He was tracked down by Norwegian television channel TV 2 Nyhetene, which has not revealed his exact location.
Bullman was released on bail by police in Thailand 12 hours after the killing and he has since gone on the run. Here he is pictured relaxing in a hotel swimming pool just before vanishing
The decision to release Bullman (pictured on bail) has angered his victim’s widow. Mrs Bajaj said: ‘He would never have been given bail if this had happened in the UK.’
Bullman (pictured) and his lover Elvira had flown to Phuket from Oslo via Bangkok on August 17 on a two-week package holiday. His wife told police she slept through the whole incident
Bullman stands accused of choking to death 34-year-old Mr Bajaj in front of his wife, Bandhna, also 34 and their two-year old son Veer after breaking into their hotel suite.
The two men became embroiled in a heated argument after the Norwegian started singing opera and yodelling on the balcony of his room at 4am.
Bandhna’s husband, an IT expert living in Singapore, was killed during the 4am attack
Following the altercation, both were rushed to hospital, where Mr Bajaj eventually died.
Breaking down in tears, Bullman said that he is filled with remorse that Veer has lost his father.
‘I think it’s horrible to think that a little boy has lost his dad. I think about my daughter like that, too.
‘As soon as we start with the kids stuff, I cannot speak any more. Sorry. They are the ones that go above and beyond,’ he said.
Since going on the run, he estimates that he has spent around £167,000, sold all his belongings and rarely ventures out.
‘I don’t know how long I can continue like this,’ he adds.
‘I stay in a small room 23 hours a day, in fear of going out. The most days I have stayed in the room without going out the door are 11 days.’
Bullman, a Norwegian martial arts expert, is pictured by a Thai police officer in the hotel after being stabbed in the shoulder with a butter knife during the scuffle with his victim Mr Bajaj
Bullman repeated his earlier claim that he acted in self-defence and that it was Mr Bajaj who initially attacked him with a knife.
He said: ‘Then he banged on my door. I thought there were hotel guards. Then I open the door, and then he is standing there.
‘The first thing he does when I open the door is to put a knife into my shoulder so that my whole arm dies out. After that, it’s black for me.’
Following the Brits murder, Mr Bajaj’s widow gave a completely different version of events to that presented by Bullman.
Police in Thailand search the room where the British father – who was on holiday celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary – died from his injuries in the early hours of August 21
Bullman killed Mr Bajaj by putting him a choke hold during a melee as his victim stabbed him with a butter knife. Bullman then dragged him on to a walkway in front of their rooms (above)
Bandhna revealed: ‘Bullman suddenly appeared in our room. He was red in the face, fully naked, and charged quickly towards us while making animalistic sounds.
‘He was kicking and punching all the time. I said into the phone words to the effect of ‘he’s in … come quickly … send someone’.
‘My husband is hero. He fought off this naked stranger who got into our room and saved the lives of me and our young son.’