The gruesome discovery as made off Ko Lan which lies 7.5 km offshore from Pattaya and is a popular excursion spot for visitors with its sandy beaches and clear waters. The body of the western man was found 1,300 feet offshore from the island.
Police officers in Pattaya are investigating the discovery of a western tourist whose body was found off the island of Ko Lan floating with a rock tied around his neck.
Thai police in Pattaya are appealing to the public to come forward to identify a western looking man whose body was found off a small island near the resort city on Tuesday at 1.30 pm by shocked locals.
The man was found floating in the sea about 1,300 km of Ko Lan, a popular tourist island, with a rock weighing 8 km tied around his neck.
Police are keeping an open mind as to whether the man’s death is case of murder or suicide
Investigating officers in the holiday city are at the moment keeping an open mind on their investigation into the man’s death.
There are presently examining three scenarios.
One is that the heavyset man in his 50s was murdered by someone by having the rock tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.
May have tied a rock around his own neck
The other is that the man committed suicide by tying the rock around his neck and jumping off a pier or some other vantage point to his death.
The third is that the man was killed or murdered and dumped at the sea with the rock being used to help conceal his body from authorities.
Autopsy if man’s body was dumped at sea
Captain Nakhonrat Nontseelard of the Pattaya Police is leading the investigation.
‘We don’t know how the man died but an autopsy should give us a better idea,’ Captain Nakhonrat told the media. If he was pushed into the water he would not be able to swim. That would be murder,’ he told the press.
He has revealed that police have ordered an autopsy and forensic analysis of the body. That will help determine if the man was killed before being placed in the water and rule out at least one of the theories.
‘The man could also have been dead before he was thrown into the sea and the rock used to try and conceal the body. Every option will be considered,’ he said on Tuesday. ‘If anybody knows of a tourist who has gone missing they should contact the police with any information they have.’
Leather rucksack found with the man
The man was wearing flip flops, denim jeans and a grey shirt when found in the water. Rescuers also found a leather rucksack with a phone charger and neck pillow inside.
Police disclosed that, in any event, the man’s body due to decomposition would have eventually risen to the surface as happened in the last few days.
Local rescue service recovered the body
The recovery of the body from the scene was carried out by the Sawang Boriboon Foundation using its speedboat and crew.
One of the paramedics on board was Thanonchai Rienpreecha: ‘The foreign man was lying face down with a rope tied to his neck and attached to a large stone. There is no clear cause of death but a forensic examination will show if he died from drowning or if he was killed first then thrown into the sea.’
Further reading:
Norwegian man found hanged at a luxury villa in Hua Hin as police probe collects fingerprints
Austrian dies in falls from the 12th floor in Phuket. Death of 3 Austrian nationals within 48 hours
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