A gang of Thai teenagers - including the son of a local politician - are
the chief suspects in the brutal murder of an Israeli tourist over the weekend who had come to enjoy the "full moon" on Phangan Island, police said Monday.

Police found the body of David Kakilashvili, 32, dead with eight knife wounds to the chest, arm, face and back and four head wounds at 2 A.M. Sunday at the Drop In bar in Phangan, an island situated 430 kilometers south of Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand.

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Witnesses said the Israeli victim and his friends were drinking at the bar when a fight broke out with five teenagers from the island who stabbed and beat Kakilashvili to death before fleeing the scene.

"We know who the culprits are and will ask the court to issue a warrants for their arrest today," said Phangan Police Sub-Lieutenant Likhit Chumchuay.

"The suspects include the son of a local politician, who has a bad reputation for bothering foreigners," said Likhit in a telephone interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur DPA.

He added that a swift conclusion of the case was important for the island, which is highly dependent of tourism.

Phangan, just off the coast of Samui Island, is famed for its full moon parties, all night bacchanals of drugs, booze and dancing that are popular among young Western tourists.