Body parts found floating in Bangkok river
Thai police yesterday said the multiple body parts found floating in Bangkok's main river belong to a Spanish businessman who was likely to have been kidnapped and extorted before he was murdered.
The gruesome case has dominated Thai media coverage in recent days with television networks airing grim footage of officers hauling human appendages out of the city's Chao Phraya river.
The first body part was discovered on Sunday with six additional finds since then at different locations along the river, AFP reported.
General Panya Maman, the officer leading the murder investigation, told reporters the victim was a Spanish businessman who entered Thailand on Jan 19.
He said: "I am convinced that within the next 48 hours, this case will be resolved. All the perpetrators are foreign gangsters although we suspect that some Thai nationals may have had knowledge (of the crime)."
An official at the Spanish embassy said they had yet to receive confirmation of the victim's identity.
AFP is withholding the man's name until his family is notified.
Gen Panya said the murder likely took place between Jan 25 and 27.
Detectives are working on the theory that he was kidnapped and coerced before he was killed.
"Police have also detected that after his death, they (his killers) transferred his money to several countries including Singapore, Spain and within Thailand," Gen Panya added.
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