Death Plunge Victim Probably Korean: Phuket Police

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Death plunge victim probably Korean: Phuket Police

The roof through which the unidentified body crashed earlier today.

PHUKET: -- Police suspect that a woman who apparently fell to her death from a condo block in Wichit earlier today was Korean.

The body of the woman crashed through the corrugated zinc roof of a Burmese construction worker’s camp at the base of the seven-story Pornsawan Condotel, located on Chao Fa East Road in Wichit.

The death was reported to Phuket City Police Duty Officer Yongyuth Krongmalai at 10:30am.

The deceased was light-skinned, wearing a pink blouse with a floral pattern and tight, blue denim shorts.

Her height was estimated at about 155cm to 160cm.

An initial inspection of the body led police to suspect she died of a broken neck.

The deceased also suffered severe facial trauma that caused many of her teeth to be knocked out.

The body was found with a diamond ring on her right-hand ring finger, a gold chain around her neck and a silver bracelet on her right wrist.

The corpse also bore a large tattoo of a sea dragon on the right shoulder.

Initial investigation found little else at the scene to help identify her; staff and residents questioned by police at the condo said they had never seen her before.

Management said the condo was popular with Koreans who took over one another’s contracts, leaving little way of knowing the identities of all residents staying there.

Lt Col Yongyuth turned over the remains of the deceased to Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers.

It was too early to know from which floor or room the woman fell, he said.

It is also unknown if she jumped, was pushed or if she was killed beforehand and thrown from the building in an attempt to hide evidence, he added.

It is hoped that a medical examination of the body will determine the exact cause of death, he said.

Lt Col Yongyuth raised the possibility that the woman could be among the many young Chinese and Korean women smuggled onto the island by human traffickers to work in the sex industry.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-08-24

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UPDATE

Phuket Police identify body of suicide jumper

Kusoldharm Foundation workers remove the body of Miss Nantanut (inset) from the grounds of the Pornsawan Condotel in Phuket yesterday.

PHUKET: -- Police have identified the woman who committed suicide yesterday by jumping from a Phuket condominium block. The woman was Thai, not Korean as initially speculated.

Phuket City Police Duty Officer Yongyuth Krongmalai identified the deceased as Nantanut Meenoy, 25-year-old owner of the Image Design clothing store on Phun Pol Road Soi 7 in Phuket Town.

A native of Petchaburi province, Miss Nantanut was living on Mae Luan Road in Phuket Town at the time of her death.

Lt Col Yongyuth said Miss Nantanut’s remains were identified by her adoptive father, a resident of the Pornsawan Condotel on Chao Fa East Road in Wichit.

For the previous story of how Miss Nantanut’s body was found yesterday click here.

The father, whose name was not reported, said he met Miss Nantanut in the car park of the condominium at about 7am as he was rushing to work.

Miss Tantanut said she was under a great deal of stress, so he told her ‘not to think too much’ and gave her the room key, telling her to relax and get some sleep.

He told her they would talk the problems through that night after he returned home from work, he told police.

When he returned home he found Miss Nantanut’s vehicle still in the car park, but no sign of his adopted daughter.

Upon questioning, residents on the ground floor told him a young woman with tight blue shorts and a pink blouse had fallen to her death that morning.

Witnesses confirmed the deceased as Miss Nantanut from a picture shown to them by the father, who then reported to Phuket City Police.

The father said the woman had often complained of lack of sales at her shop.

Financial difficulties probably caused her to take her own life by jumping from the third floor window, he said.

The apparent cause of death was a broken neck upon impact with the corrugated zinc roof of a Burmese worker’s room below.

The Gazette notes that a young Norwegian tourist in January last year miraculously survived a similar fall from eight stories up after falling off a Phuket condo balcony.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-08-25