Dead foreigner identified

PATONG: Police yesterday announced that they had identified the man found dead in a derelict Patong building on Sunday as 60-year-old Bjorn Ola Ingemar Ahlin, from Sweden. Pol Lt Col Supamit Sukjaroen, Inspector of Tourist Police, told the Gazette that officers yesterday identified Mr Ahlin’s body after questioning staff at hotels in Patong and Karon about any guests who had not checked in recently. “Mr Ahlin arrived in Thailand on April 15, and was staying at the Karon View Hotel in Karon,” Col Supamit said. His body was discovered in an abandoned building behind the Phuket Tourist Police office on Thaweewong Rd. Police believe he had been dead at least three days before his body was discovered. Although no evidence suggesting a suspicious death was found, his body has has been taken to Bangkok for autopsy. Meanwhile, another anonymous body was found in a tin mine near Dulwich International College on Sunday afternoon. Pol Capt Chockchai Sutthimeak of Phuket Town Police Station said that police and Kusornlatham Foundation volunteers responded to a call by local villagers, and found the body of a man lying among the roots of a tree at the bottom of a pit in the mine. A nylon rope was tied around the man’s neck, and a half-meter-long steel bar was lodged under the rope. Police believe that the bar had been twisted to tighten the rope and garotte the man. An autopsy confirmed that he had died as result of strangulation. Apart from some bruising and scrapes, there were no other wounds on the man’s body. He is believed to have died at least three days before his body was found. The man was wearing only blue underwear, and no identification papers were found at the scene. Police estimate he was 25 to 30 years old. The body had a tattoo of a copulating couple on the front right leg, with the Thai word “seapsook” (feeling good) written below. On the left shoulder was a tattoo of a buffalo head with the word “USA” written underneath. “I believe that he was killed at another place and brought here,” said Capt Chockchai. He added that investigators found tire tracks from a pick-up truck and footprints in the area. Police believe that at least two people were involved in the killing. The victim is believed to have been a Thai working at a construction site in the area. The body remains at the morgue in Wachira Hospital awaiting identification.