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Tiwat Kasemchoke, 29, is now in police detention. German tourist Astrid Al-Assaad Schachmer, 45, was found dead on Sunday with bruises around her neck and her body topless.

"She humiliated me. She often told other foreigners that I fell for her and tried to rape her several times, which is not true," Tiwat claimed. "It's she who wanted to be in a relationship."

Police summoned Tiwat for questioning after reports the woman was last seen alive in his company.

"I'd planned to kill her. So, I invited her to a party at a shop where I've been working," Tiwat reportedly told police, "Then, I suggested we walk to a beach together. That's where I punched and strangled her".

The tourist had stayed on Koh Pha-ngan - an island famous for full moon parties - since December 10 last year. In 2007, she had also spent four months on the island.

Police superintendent Colonel Charoon Uchuparp said the body had been sent to the Royal Thai Police Institute of Forensic Medicine to determine the exact cause of her death.

"A medical examination by the Koh Pha-ngan Hospital rules out drowning as the cause of death," Charoon said. He added thatexamination also dismissed the victim might have been raped.

"The medical examination found no trace of sexual assault," Charoon pointed out.

Panu Woramit, head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Surat Thani office, said the murder would hurt local tourism.

"It makes other tourists question about safety on the island," Panu said. "The arrest of a culprit will restore confidence though."

Chairman of a Koh Pha-ngan hotel association, Janchote Piriyasathit, said no such crime had been reported at the island during the past decade.

"Since full moon parties were introduced more than a 10 years ago, locals have watched out for tourists' safety because they know tourism is a big income-earner for their community," Janchote said.