Sakhon Nakhon police have detained a 35-year-old man on suspicion that he locked his father and sister into separate steel cabinets, pushed them into a pond and watched them drown.

The man, identified as Varut Detpumee, whom police claim has confessed to murdering his father and sister by luring them into cabinets placed on a table in the pond, while telling them that he intended to shoot a video clip of them inside the cabinets for his YouTube channel.

Once they were inside, Varut allegedly locked the cabinets, tied chains around them and pushed them into the water. Police say he has, so far, not provided a clear motivation for his murders and no drugs were found in his system.

On Monday, police were alerted by the village headman, in Pang Khon, to suspicious activity near a pond in the village. When they arrived at the scene, they discovered Varut standing there and in the pond, which is a water source for the village, the police found two steel cabinets

Villagers helped retrieve the cabinets from a depth of about 3m. When they were opened, the bodies of a man and a woman were found inside. They were identified as “Prayat”, 66, and “Piengpen”, 33, who were Varut’s father and sister, respectively.

The actual causes of their deaths will be confirmed by autopsy, but forensic officials think that they drowned. The police have filed charges of premeditated murders against Varut.

Police will also check a report that Varut suffers from a psychological disorder and has received treatment at a hospital in Sawang Dandin district.

Pongpat Inthichan, the village headman, told reporters that when he first went to the pond, he noticed the two cabinets and a table. He took photos, but did not suspect anything untoward, believing that it was equipment being used by water supply engineers. Later, the villagers came to him again and told him that the cabinets had disappeared and a man was there. He then alerted the police.

Meanwhile, the owner of a steel shop in Sawang Dandin district told reporters that Varut hired him to make the table and the cabinets, of different sizes, in November last year. He charged Varut Bt12,000. Varut told him that he wanted to use them to make content for YouTube.

Varut looked normal, the owner said, adding that he is both shocked and sorry that the cabinets were allegedly used to murder people.