Gruesome double murder in fishing port

PHUKET TOWN: Two Burmese fishermen were found murdered on Soi Si Sena, in Phuket’s fishing port, on Saturday morning. Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the first man, as yet unidentified, was wearing a white shirt and green pants and appeared to be 20-25 years old. He is thought to have died at least six hours before his body was found, at 6.50 am. The victim died from about 40 or 50 stab wounds to his torso, shoulders and arms. Maj Songwut said the wounds appeared to have been inflicted by a sharpened steel reinforcing bar or a sharp knife. “Witnesses told me that they saw the victim running away from four or five men. He fell down and the men jumped on him and killed him.” On the same day, another body was found near the fish factory, also on Soi Si Sena. Pol Maj Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that this victim, also as yet unidentified, was found about 300 meters from the first. He was wearing a green shirt and white shorts and had a tattoo of a tiger on his chest. “A fishermen saw an arm floating in the sea and reported it to us. After arriving at the scene, we found a trail of dried blood on the ground, which led us to a small wooden raft where we found the body,” Maj Abdul said. In addition to losing his arm, the victim was stabbed four times in the stomach and his head had been smashed. The man is estimated to have been 35-40 years old. He is thought to have died at least five hours before his body was found, at 8 am. “I think the two victims were killed by the same group because their deaths occurred about the same time and both were killed using similar weapons. I think the killers had a conflict with the two men,” Maj Adul added. The two men are the seventh and eighth victims to be found murdered in the fishing port area this year.