Corpse baffles investigators

THALANG: Police have been unable to identify the body of a man found in shallow water off Ao Por on the morning of December 9. Officers believe, however, that the man was beaten to death and his corpse weighted before being dumped into the sea. Pol Maj Anan Jingjit of Thalang Police Station told the Gazette that the badly decomposed corpse, which he described as 70% bones and with very little flesh, was discovered by a fisherman underneath a makeshift bamboo shack near the village of Baan Ao Sam Laem. He said the corpse had been weighted at each ankle with stones weighing about 20 kilograms, and that sea animals had eaten most of the flesh by the time the body was found. He denied detailed accounts in local papers describing how the man was murdered, saying the body was too badly decomposed to yield any useful information. He also denied speculation that the murder was related to the tourism business in the area for the same reason. “We don’t know who he was, or even his nationality. From the way he was dressed, we think he was 20-30 years old. Other than that, we have very little evidence to work with,” he said. Maj Anan urged any member of the public who thinks he or she may have known the victim to contact Thalang Police at 076-311123.