Horrified beachgoers found a woman's corpse stuffed in a suitcase after she was allegedly murdered by her husband - in a dispute of their child's nationality.

The body of Liu Lili, 33, was bound with duct tape, rope and cable ties before being crammed into the Rip Curl bag and hurled into the sea in Chonburi, eastern Thailand, last week,

A shocked passer-by noticed the suitcase on Friday (Jan 10) after it washed back ashore and an arm was poking out through one of the zips, which had come loose.

Police checked local hardware shops for someone who had bought the equipment used to conceal the body and arrested Lu Xueyang, 38, yesterday (Jan 12).

Lu Xueyang, from Taiwan, allegedly confessed to killing his wife, from China, after they argued about business and then the nationality of their three-month-old baby daughter, which had been born in Thailand.

The husband wanted their child to have Taiwanese nationality the same as him but his wife wanted her to be Chinese - a sensitive political issue for residents of both countries.

Police Major General Prakan Prajong said: ''The couple arrived in Thailand about six months ago and started to run a business.

''They argued about Liu Lili's friend being involved and then about the nationality of their child.

''The husband admitted that he strangled his wife the put her body in a suitcase and threw it into sea but it came back to the sand.''

Police said the woman's wrists were bound with black cable and her ankles by a green cord. Her head was wrapped in yellow duct tape and covered by a black plastic bag.

Her body had been stuffed in a red and black Rip Curl travel bag.

The passer-by who first noticed the bag said he though the body inside ''was a doll'' until his friend checked again and discovered it was a human corpse.

Police took her the woman's fingerprints to identify her while the body was sent to hospital for a post-mortem examination.

A friend of the victim also came forward to identify the body by her tattoos.

Officers said they were able to find the husband because they checked with the supermarket looking for someone who bought the things that were used to conceal the body.

Major General Prajong said: "He told us that after he killed his wife he went to the supermarket to buy the cable wire, the nylon rope and the plastic bag.

"The equipment was used to help him stuffed the body into a suitcase before he threw it away into the sea, but unfortunately it was thrown back to the shore."

Officers said they are questioning the husband and have not charged him while they investigate whether more people were involved.

The police chief added: "The couple were fighting over a business issue so we need to check if they were more culprit and then we will decide what the charges will be.''