Grisly remains found in Patong

PATONG: The mutilated body of an unidentified man was found on Thursday in woods next to the Patong-Karon road, not far from Simon Cabaret. Pol Capt Ampholwathana Saengruang of Patong Police Station told the Gazette that the victim was around 170 cm tall and was thought to be 28-30 years old. The head of the corpse, he said, had been all but severed from the body and the victim had been scalped. The index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of the left hand had been chopped off and were not at the scene. There were no signs of a struggle, so police are proceeding on the theory that the man was killed elsewhere before being dumped in the woods. They also believe that at least two people were involved in the murder because one alone could not have held the victim down and carried out the mutilations at the same time. Capt Ampholwathana admitted that investigators do not know why the man was murdered in this way, though they have a number of theories. He might have been caught stealing, the captain said – which would account for the fingers being cut off – or he might have been involved in some kind of business double-cross. Another possibility, he said, was that the victim was a Burmese laborer killed in a quarrel.