Indications point to a crime in the Philippines as the bodies were badly decomposed while the container left the Philippines eight days before it was opened on Monday and it was reportedly cleaned before it was shipped onwards to Thailand arriving at Lat Krabang Port on Monday, October 2nd.
Authorities in Manila on Friday confirmed that they are investigating how two Philippine nationals ended up in a freight cargo container which left that country’s capital on September 24th and which was opened in Bangkok last Monday to reveal the decomposed bodies of a man and woman.
Authorities in Manila have commenced an investigation into the handling of a container which was opened in Bangkok earlier this week with two badly decomposed bodies found inside.
The 200-foot container was owned by the Evergreen Marine Corp, a Taiwanese shipping services company and originated from a harbour in Manila according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) with the manager of the South Harbour Port in the Philippine capital confirming that the matter was being investigated.
Railway police in Bangkok began investigating the strange case on Monday morning after the grim discovery was made at the Lat Krabang Port
Railway police at Makkasan Railway Station in Bangkok this week conducted an investigation after the two decomposed bodies were found in the freight container which was opened at Lat Krabang Port having arrived by rail from Chonburi
On Monday, Police Lieutenant Colonel Narongrit Thongtawee briefed reporters on the discovery and confirmed that investigators had ordered an autopsy on the two bodies which were badly decomposed and are believed to have been dead for at least a week before they were discovered on Monday.
Police revealed that the empty freight container left Manila in the Philippines on the 24th of September having initially been used and transported to a number of provinces in China before being transported to Hong Kong where it left on the 20th of September 2023 before it was transported to Manila, where it was supposedly left empty for use in Thailand.
Bodies were badly decomposed and the woman was thought to have been pregnant. She was wearing a ring on her right finger, the man a distinctive tattoo
Police are not yet sure if the two corpses found in the container were alive when it was closed up and failed to draw attention because it was soundproofed but they are not sure how the two people died.
They could only confirm on Monday that the bodies were that of a man and a woman. The body of the woman, who was thought to have been pregnant, was found at the front of the container wearing a pink shirt and pink pants while the body of the male was found lying on its side at the back, shirtless.
The female body was revealed to have had a ring on her right finger.
Police cannot confirm if the two people died in the container or were dead when they were placed there. However, there appear to be no signs of injuries on the bodies.
Autopsies were carried out at Police General Hospital to assist the investigation.
It is suspected that the bodies were dead when placed in the container as it took only eight days to reach Bangkok on Monday and it was cleaned before it was sent on to the Thai capital to be used again for exports at the port.
Forensic officers carried out a full examination of the scene. It is thought the deaths occurred in the Philippines, possibly before the container shipped
The container was opened at Lat Krabang Warehouse at the busy deep sea port facility in Bangkok after it arrived by rail on Monday morning.
Forensic officers were called to the scene and carried out a full examination before the bodies were removed to carry out the autopsies.
A criminal case has been opened into the deaths, although it is thought, at this stage, that the two people died outside Thailand, quite possibly in the Philippines even before the container was shipped from Manila.
The distinctive tattoo found on the male corpse is reported to be linked to a fraternity in the Philippines known as Alpha Kappa Rho, AKP.
The fraternity was formed in 1973 among university students in the Philippines and promotes values of loyalty, unity and integrity.
Man belonged to a well-known fraternity within Philippines universities established in Manila in 1973
Alpha Kappa Rho or AKP is a fraternity registered with the Philippines Security and Exchange Commission as a non-profit and non-dividend corporation with chapters of the organisation throughout the country.
The fraternity was originally established by 16 college students in August 1973 at the University of Santo Tomas(UST), located in the Philippines capital, Manila.
The reputation of Alpha Kappa Rho has been damaged of late with reports of fraternity violence, and members being involved in street fights, notably in the Philippines province of Cebu.
The fraternity has also received negative press coverage for its aggressive hazing rituals.
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