PATTAYA - Police divers have found evidence believed to be linked to the foreigner whose body was found tied to a concrete pile in the waters off Koh Larn on Friday.
The divers were sent to the area where the body was found on Saturday and they collected a snorkel, a cutter, a swimming cap and swimming goggles and other items from the bottom of the sea near the concrete pile, located about 200 metres off Samae beach.
- Earlier report: Foreigner found dead off Pattaya
"The Central Police Forensic Science Division is checking fingerprints on the evidence from the sea," Pattaya police chief Apichai Krobpetch said. "They could be linked to the victim."
But they have not yet come up with witnesses to identify him.
The only information investigators have is the man was between 170 and 175 centimetres tall and the body structure indicated that he was a westerner. Police believe he was between 45 and 50 years of age.
His backpack was tied to a concrete pole to which buoys are attached and his throat had been cut, leading police to suspect he had been murdered. (continue below)
Officers check a concrete pile off Koh Larn where the body of a foreigner was found with his backpack tied to the structure on Friday. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
Police have questioned a fisherman and his wife, and a resort owner on the beach on Sunday but they said they did not recognise the man in the picture showed by investigators.
Another team was sent to talk to shops selling diving gear in Pattaya and the owner of one shop said the man looked similar to one of his clients, the officer added.
Police are checking CCTV footage installed on Samae beach and looking for people on the resort island and mainland Pattaya who could give them more clues.
"The most important thing right now is to find out who he was," Pol Col Apihai said. "Anybody who can give information about the man to police can contact Pattaya police station anytime."
Pol Lt Gen Jitti Rodbangyang, commander of the Provincial Police Region 2 office in charge of eastern provinces, has ordered Chon Buri police to mobilise its best investigators to end the mystery of the death as it was a serious case and it could affect tourism.