PHUKET: The man whose body was found on an isolated Phuket road at the weekend has been identified - but there are still plenty of questions to be answered.
He was Marco Perusi, an Italian aged 57. The embassy in Bangkok has been informed, police said.
Officers traced the motorcycle he had hired before coming to grief in a single-vehicle crash early on Sunday morning on the Kata-Sai Yuan Road, near the Karon lookout, in southern Phuket.
There was a small amount of money in his wallet, but no identification. Tracing the hirer of the Honda Click produced a copy of the passport, revealing his name.
It is not known how long he had been on Phuket, or where his passport and possessions are now.
Did nobody - friends or neighbors - notice he had gone missing? Was Mr Perusi a loner who was happy doing his own thing on Phuket?
Is it possible to come to Phuket and lead a life without making any meaningful connections?
Police believe he lived near the Shell Museum in Rawai, but information about him remains scarce.
The manner of his death is also a blank. His body was found on a steep stretch of road, a spot where assailants have been known to pounce on unsuspecting riders.
Mr Perusi did have a nasty wound on his forehead. A red helmet was found nearby.
The mystery of the body in the road was one of two tragedies that became apparent on Sunday.
Not long after Mr Perusi was found dead on the road, police uncovered a second male body that appears to have suffered a fatal wound to the chest.
The man, left in bush near Phuket's famous Cape Promthep sunset viewpoint, had been dead for several days so it was impossible to tell whether he was Thai or an expat.
The body was sent yesterday to Surat Thani for an autopsy that should reveal more information.
He was Marco Perusi, an Italian aged 57. The embassy in Bangkok has been informed, police said.
Officers traced the motorcycle he had hired before coming to grief in a single-vehicle crash early on Sunday morning on the Kata-Sai Yuan Road, near the Karon lookout, in southern Phuket.
There was a small amount of money in his wallet, but no identification. Tracing the hirer of the Honda Click produced a copy of the passport, revealing his name.
It is not known how long he had been on Phuket, or where his passport and possessions are now.
Did nobody - friends or neighbors - notice he had gone missing? Was Mr Perusi a loner who was happy doing his own thing on Phuket?
Is it possible to come to Phuket and lead a life without making any meaningful connections?
Police believe he lived near the Shell Museum in Rawai, but information about him remains scarce.
The manner of his death is also a blank. His body was found on a steep stretch of road, a spot where assailants have been known to pounce on unsuspecting riders.
Mr Perusi did have a nasty wound on his forehead. A red helmet was found nearby.
The mystery of the body in the road was one of two tragedies that became apparent on Sunday.
Not long after Mr Perusi was found dead on the road, police uncovered a second male body that appears to have suffered a fatal wound to the chest.
The man, left in bush near Phuket's famous Cape Promthep sunset viewpoint, had been dead for several days so it was impossible to tell whether he was Thai or an expat.
The body was sent yesterday to Surat Thani for an autopsy that should reveal more information.
I was nearly kicked off my motorbike on the road from Rawai to Kata in August. It was about 12:30am and I remember passing a Thai male sitting on a motorbike at the top of the hill. A few minutes later I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the same motorbike coasting up behind me with the lights and engine off. I slammed on my brakes just as he was about to kick my bike, causing him to fly past me. (I was thinking Tom Cruise in Top Gun lol) He stopped about 20 meters in front of me and pretended he was about to take a piss in the jungle and I hauled ass down the mountain. I always heard stories about muggings on Kata hill, but thought it was safe enough with the new road lights. Actually, it was because of the lights that I was able to see him sneaking up on me.
Posted by Matt on January 19, 2012 06:47