The discovery of dismembered human body parts, including a woman's head, in Klong Bangkok Noi and Klong Bangkok Yai has sparked a murder investigation.
Pol Lt Gen Samran Nuanma, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said on Wednesday that the dismembered body parts belonged to the same person -- probably a woman because of the presence of jewellery, long hair, painted nails and teeth braces.
However, police had not yet ruled out the possibility that those dismembered parts belonged to a transgender person.
The age and the nationality had yet to be determined, said the city police chief, although tattoos on the back of the body suggested that the person might be Thai.
Pol Lt Gen Samran said investigators believed it was murder as the dismembered parts were scattered around the canals. The body parts were likely dumped into the Chao Phraya River before being swept away by the current into Klong Bangkok Noi and Klong Bangkok Yai.
Investigators were trying to determine whether the body parts were wrapped before they were thrown into the river, he said. They were examining CCTV footage in the areas where the body parts were found.
Rescue workers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation reported that the headless upper torso and the head were found in the area under the jurisdiction of Bangkok Noi police station, the left leg was found floating near Wat Hongrattanaram pier in an area controlled by Buppharam police station and the left leg was spotted near Wat Noi Nai pier in an area under the jurisdiction of Taling Chan police station.
According to Thai media reports, the headless torso was first found floating under Arun Amarin bridge in Bangkok Noi area around noon. Later, the head was found floating near Ansorissunnah Royal Mosque in Bangkok Noi. When police placed the head back on the torso, they determined the throat had been slashed by a sharp object.