Missing Dane found dead

PATONG: The body of Danish tourist Henrik Rasmussen, 47, was discovered late yesterday afternoon in a section of Klong Pakbang behind the Royal Paradise Hotel, police have confirmed.

Mr Rasmussen, who suffered from Down syndrome, left the Royal Paradise Hotel about 4:30 am on January 28 and had not been seen since, his cousin Helen Soerenson had earlier told the Gazette.

Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark said that police believe Mr Rasmussen died at least five days before his body was discovered.

Police also recovered Mr Rasmussen’s wallet, which contained money, as well as a patient’s card issued by Patong Hospital and some slips indicating that he had been a guest at the Royal Paradise Hotel, he said.

There were three wounds to the body: two on the back and a third, about five-centimeters wide, to the right armpit, he said.

The condition of the body made it difficult to know if the wounds had been inflicted by a weapon, he added.

If Rasmussen had been attacked, he might have been hit on the head first, Col Grissak speculated.

“We have to wait for the autopsy results,” he said, adding that the autopsy could take some time due the advanced state of decomposition of the body.

Mr Rasmussen’s nephew Kasper said that his uncle’s body was found in what he described as “a well” located just meters behind the hotel.

The body was found by a local resident, coinciding with the reward money offered being doubled to 20,000 baht, he noted.

Mr Rasmussen’s cousin Helen, who had come to Thailand on holiday with him, will stay in Thailand until Mr Rasmussen’s body has been cremated. She will then fly back to Copenhagen with his ashes, he said.