Loch Palm murder still a mystery

TUNG TONG: Some 15 months after the mutilated body of a woman was found near the Loch Palm Golf Course, police are still trying to find out who she was – and who killed her. The victim died of blood loss from six stab wounds – two in her stomach, one in her throat, one in an armpit, one in her side and one in her chest. Her skull was also fractured. An autopsy conducted in Bangkok found no evidence that the woman had been raped, but discovered that, in addition to her other injuries, she had been sexually mutilated. Pol Maj Paitoon Kongsudjai, the Inspector at the Tung Tong Police Station, told the Gazette today, “We are still investigating, but things are going very slowly because, we think, she was probably Burmese and had no relatives in Thailand. In addition, there were no witnesses to the crime.” Police originally theorized that the victim was not Thai because of the poor quality of the clothing she was wearing at the time of her death. Maj Paitoon said, “We have checked her fingerprints with the [national police] computer but there was no match. [All Thai citizens are fingerprinted when applying for an ID card.] “Also, although many people contacted us because they had friends or relatives missing, when they were shown her photograph, they all said that they did not know her. Her face also looked different from Thai faces,” Maj Paitoon added. “As a result [of being unable to identify the victim], it’s very difficult to check her background or her movements. But the case is still open,” he said.