Masseuse garotted by suspected hitman

PHUKET TOWN: Angkana Seawsuk, 28, a practitioner of traditional Thai massage, was murdered in the Rome Place Hotel yesterday evening by a young man posing as a customer. Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan, inspector of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that Narong Noppiboon, manager of the massage section, told investigators he was doing a routine check of massage rooms when he opened the door of room 221 and found the victim lying unconscious on the bed, surrounded by blood. She had been garotted with a thin piece of wire, which had cut into her throat. She had also been beaten about the face until she bled. The victim was rushed to Wachira Hospital by hotel staff, but died soon after arrival from loss of blood and lack of oxygen supply to the brain. Forensic experts found long and short hairs on the bed and signs of a struggle. They also found fingerprints on the wall next to the bed. K. Narong told the police that at around 5 pm yesterday a young man visited the hotel and asked specifically for No 23 – K. Angkana – to massage him. He described the man as being between 20 and 23 years old, about 170 cm tall, with white skin and a “Chinese-looking” face. He was wearing a blue jacket with blue jeans and a blue cap. Police believe that K. Angkana did not know her murderer, and are working on the theory that he was a hired killer. Although they are not ruling out other motives for the murder, they suspect that it may have been sparked by a love triangle. “We are investigating now. We will call her-ex boyfriend in for questioning, because from her friends in the hotel we know that she was also involved in a relationship with a ‘tomboy’,” Maj Songwut said.