German businessman found dead in Udon Thani flat, police believe it is a possible murder case

[webfact]

German Businessman Found Dead In Udon Thani Flat

UDON THANI: -- A German citizen has been found dead inside his condominium room in Udon Thani province. The police believe it is a possible murder case.

The police were alerted after the body of Mr. Frank Hartwig, 46, was discovered by one of his friends at Cabana Condominium. Mr. Hartwig′s body, which was wearing only an underwear, was lying face-down on the floor surrounded in pool of dried blood.

The back of his head showed wounds caused by blunt object. Police say he has been dead for half a month.

Mr. Almut Meyer, 69, told police he had been living in Thailand with his Thai wife for 10 years and had become a friend of Mr. Hartwig, who worked as a computer parts businessman in the German city of Frankfurt. Mr. Meyer said Mr. Hartwig had a Thai wife but they later divorced. The woman is now reportedly living with her new husband in Denmark.

Mr. Meyer said Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops, and he last met Mr. Hartwig on 30 May. Afterwards, he said, he went to Europe and talked with Mr. Hartwig for the last time via chat program on 17 June. Mr. Meyer told police that once he′s back, many people told him they had not seen Mr. Hartwig for a big while, so he decided to check on Mr. Hartwig at his condominium.

Mr. Surayut Netprom, 26, general manager at the condominium, said Mr. Hartwig lived alone in his room, but brought a Thai girl to sleep with him time to time. Earlier today, he told police, Mr. Meyer said Mr. Hartwig would not answer the door so he went to his room with spare key. That was when he discovered the body.

The police say the German Embassy has already been contacted about the matter. As for the cause for death, the officers said it could be murder and robbery as some properties of Mr. Hartwig were missing, but details are too murky at the moment.

Source: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNM01qazBNemt6TlE9PQ==

-- KHAOSOD English 2013-07-04

[Silom]

Farewell

[soi41]

Found in a pool of blood, headwounds caused by a blunt object!

Possible murdercase ??

[bigbamboo]

I think the police could be on to something here.

Edited July 4, 2013 by bigbamboo

[1020]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

[darrendsd]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

The article says he drank at local shops, it doesn't say he drank with local men

[borisloosebrain]

RIP dude.

[alexander69]

Too murky at the moment???????? I guess its not all clear then. RIP

[NeverSure]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

The article says he drank at local shops, it doesn't say he drank with local men

Please explain to me why it is bad to drink with local men. I'm sure it's just my ignorance, but I have been in bars with local men, although I knew them. I never was worried.

Seriously for the help of everyone, where is the danger? Thank you.

[bander]

The police say the German Embassy has already been contacted about the matter. As for the cause for death, the officers said it could be murder and robbery as some properties of Mr. Hartwig were missing, but details are too murky at the moment.

And the details will keep on being murky as long as BIB are "investigating"

[bander]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

The article says he drank at local shops, it doesn't say he drank with local men

Please explain to me why it is bad to drink with local men. I'm sure it's just my ignorance, but I have been in bars with local men, although I knew them. I never was worried.

Seriously for the help of everyone, where is the danger? Thank you.

You'll find out soon enough, good luck drinking with locals

Edited July 4, 2013 by bander

[lee b]

Sad but yes sounds like murder

[NCC1701A]

I just want to translate this. A man who is in the habit of bringing hookers into his own home is found dead with the cause being a blow to the back of the head.

[IBoldnewguy]

I'm not sure if drinking w/ locals would be any more dangerous than drinking w/ other Farangs and I don't really want to argue the point. The danger I see in both would be that Good Neighbor/Trust Everybody attitude that comes with over indulging in the joy juice. Inviting strangers or bar room aquaintances home for a few more to top off the night off because one doesn't want the good times to end or becoming so drunk that you are unaware that they have invited themselves.

Regardless, there is no safety net for these types of incidents that we read about so frequently as certain lifestyles lead to higher rates of mortality. There is no excuse for murder for he could have been, just as easily, robbed and left alive.

Being in a locked room in his underwear sort of rules out a surprised thief and does imply that someone left and closed/locked the door. Or he could have drunkenly fallen backward and hit his head and then rolled over to be discovered face down (was the room robbed or simply unorganized and trashy) - the possibilities are numerous and there is so much that the reporter did not bother to tell us.

Death at 46 is such a waste.

Edited July 4, 2013 by IBoldnewguy

[chainarong]

Found in a pool of blood, headwounds caused by a blunt object!

Possible murdercase ??

they r a worry these Thai Mr plods

[Bluespunk]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

The article says he drank at local shops, it doesn't say he drank with local men

Please explain to me why it is bad to drink with local men. I'm sure it's just my ignorance, but I have been in bars with local men, although I knew them. I never was worried.

Seriously for the help of everyone, where is the danger? Thank you.

The dangers of drinking with Thai men are well catalogued on this site. When a row breaks out, over some real or imagined slight, knives and guns can be and are pulled out and used. . If the guys you are drinking with are the BIB the danger is worse as they are generally above the law, especially if the victims are not Thai. I'm not saying all Thais are like this, the majority are clearly not or the streets would be running with blood, however the danger does exist.

[NongKhaiKid]

I think the police could be on to something here.

Quite easy for BIB, a drunken crazy farang beat himself to death.

[sirchai]

With all respect to the man's family and friends. May he rest in peace! Let's hope that the authorities don't come to the conclusion he committed suicide.-

[Scott]

I don't know that there is any danger in drinking with Thai men. There is a danger when fighting with Thai men, but otherwise, I fail to see the problem.

One should always be careful about who you bring to your home. Even an ex-boyfriend of a lady friend would be capable of committing robbery and murder.

My condolences to the friends and family.

[jasonslater]

Very sad and not to be found for such a long time afterwards. Lets hope the culprit can be caught, before he/or she strikes again. My thoughts are with the mans family and friends RIP.

[Farangdam]

'german husband and change to denmark husband' see how the girl "move on" ....... man never move on..

[johna]

The victim was only wearing underwear, not the way most men would dress if they were entertaining male friends.

Edited July 5, 2013 by johna

[personchester]

We do of course not know the cause of his dead, but it certainly was not a suicide.

As stated, the fellow drank quite a bit, and on such occasions when heavily intoxicated with alcohol, harsh

discussions with other people may occur, as a result of which some people 'lose face' and take their action.

My thoughts are with his family / friends, RIP

[johnlandy]

RIP.

Mr. Hartwig liked to drink beer at local shops

I always said, drinking with local men is one of the seven deadly sins.

Wonder what the cause was.... from the sounds of it (ex-wife living in Denmark, so unlikely motive to be behind it, nothing major stolen) he likely made a local lose face and paid the price.

The article says he drank at local shops, it doesn't say he drank with local men

By the time it gets to post # 6 or 7 some clown has the investigation wrapped up already.

[catweazle]

Hard to describe how much the article itself and most of the comments (so far) suck. One "translates" and points out the victim's "habit" (one that the majority of us male expats are indulging in I guess), another one questions whether it is a good idea to drink at local shops with Thai men, another one praises his ex wife for moving on and then our Closet Sherlocks wrapping up the whole case within a few posts as they are so much better than police. I admit that the police work performed here in Thailand is perhaps far from perfect, but there are very good ones out there like Dr. Pornthip, and I personally have a Thai police officer as friend who helped me a lot in the past years without asking me for a single Baht, ever! Guess the "police believe" part was one of those typical copywriting "accidents" that happen to most of the news articles here. Thai Visa needs a good and well paid editor, but that is too much to ask for, I guess...

R.I.P. Frank - I hope you are in a better place now. Condolences to his family.

Edited July 5, 2013 by catweazle

[Dararasmi]

Bummer. If it was indeed murder, I hope the responsible party/parties will be brought to justice. One can hope...

[webfact]

please stay on topic and don't waste space with comments criticizing grammar/spelling errors.

/one post removed

[Rimmer]

A post with messed up quotes removed

[F4UCorsair]

If ever I need a bleeding elephant tracked through ten feet of snow, I'll call the Thai police. They're the men for the job, without doubt.

[malcoml]

Yeah did the article really need to say that his ex wife was with another foreigner and that he occasionally bought women back to his room.