Residents in fear after second murder in two days

PHUKET TOWN: People living in the area of the Fishing Port have asked police to step up patrols after two murders in as many days. Both victims were stabbed to death. The first body was found on Friday, as reported in the Gazette’s online news the following day. On Saturday, police were again called to the port area where another body had been found, this time with two stab wounds in the neck and five in the stomach. Pol Lt Passakorn Sonthikul of the Phuket Town police station told the Gazette that, as with the previous case, there was no identification on the body. Police surmise that the dead man was a fisherman, but have not been able to establish whether he was Thai or Burmese. The victim is estimated to have been around 30 to 35 years old and was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. People living in the area told police that a group of at least 10 fishermen had been seen drinking and singing loudly the evening before, but that no one had dared to ask them to be quiet. Police believe drunkenness may have led to a dispute culminating in the man’s murder. Making their appeal to the authorities, local residents said that theft and general ‘gangsterism’ in the area had also been rising.