Cleaners find Chinese businessman’s body with stab wounds at South Thailand resort

Cleaners at a resort in South Thailand‘s Trang province found a Chinese businessman‘s body with stab and slash wounds yesterday. Police were alerted of the incident in the Tub Tieng sub-district of Trang’s main city district in the afternoon. The victim was 43 year old Zhiru Li, The Phuket Express reported.

According to resort staff, a room cleaner attempted to contact Li using the phone number he provided upon check-in. When Li didn’t respond, the cleaner knocked on his door, but there was no answer.

The concerned cleaner informed the resort manager about this and obtained permission to enter Li’s room. The cleaner saw blood in front of the bathroom, making her scared to go inside. The cleaner then called another cleaner to inspect the shower area, where Li’s body was found clad only in a towel and covered in blood.

Police and emergency responders were called to the scene. They found that Li had more than 20 stab and slash wounds, including to his chest. Police estimate that he had died at least 12 hours before his body was discovered.

Several empty beer bottles and six unused condoms were found nearby.

Resort staff said that Li had checked into the room accompanied by an unidentified “Thai female friend.” They entered the room together on Monday (May 15) at around 4.15pm. However, upon investigation, it was discovered that Li’s mobile phone and sedan were missing, with no trace found within the room or the resort. Thai police are currently searching for the Thai female companion, withholding her identity from the public despite having a solid clue about her identity, according to their statements.

Police found that Li was a businessman who exported rubber and wood in Trang and neighbouring provinces. Resort staff members said that he always stayed at the resort during his vacations and owned a house on Lanta Island.

Li was an expatriate who had a Thai wife from Trang and three Thai children. Li’s wife came to the resort to see his body. Due to her grief, she did not comment on the situation or the potential identity of the suspect.