The body of an unidentified man believed to be an Indian national was found stuffed into a suitcase thrown into Khlong Ong Ang in Phra Nakhon district on Sunday.
Officers from Samran Rat police station were called to inspect a large bag spotted in the canal about 20 metres from Samran Rat intersection in the afternoon. A worker at an ice factory near the canal found what looked to be human remains resembling a head and shoulders protruding from the bag.
Acting Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahathaworn said an initial examination by police physicians indicated that the man had been murdered and had been dead for at least three days. The victim had multiple wounds caused by being hit with a hard object all over his body. The injuries to his head and neck were thought to have been the fatal blows.
The man was an Asian about 150-160 cm tall. He was wearing only underwear, but police found several items of clothing in the bag.
Pol Lt Gen Sanit said Samran Rat police and officers at the MPB’s Division 6 and Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) will work together to identify the man and find the culprits.
A source close to the investigation said several items found in the bag indicated the man was likely an Indian national. Police theorise the victim was tortured for information before being killed and his body dumped in the canal. A business conflict may have been behind the murder.