Two more Burmese murdered

PHUKET: Two Burmese men were killed in Phuket over the Songkran holiday, in separate violent attacks. Early Sunday morning, Phuket Town police received a call from residents of Soi Siang Tai, complaining about the noise of men fighting. Police arrived an hour later and found lying in the soi the body of a man who was later identified by workers at a cooking gas shop nearby as being a Burmese national named So. The victim had three stab wounds in the chest and four in the back. So had been working as a delivery boy at the shop and was living with two other Burmese men in a room owned by his Thai employer. Police suspect that So’s roommates were involved in the killing, since both have disappeared. They are conducting a search for the missing men, and will also be bringing the employer in for questioning. At 2 pm the same day, the body of another Burmese man, a construction worker named Witkhen, was found off Soi Kanok, Moo 7, in Rawai. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station said that people living in the area found Witkhen’s body lying face down in the forest. He had been hit several times about the face and head with a blunt object. Police believe he had been killed elsewhere, then moved to the area in an attempt to hide the body. Witkhen’s friends told police that he had disappeared on April 12 after going out with friends. In this case, police suspect that the killers were other Burmese nationals living in the area. An investigation is underway.