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Phuket construction worker found dead after 'debt collecting' fight

Eakkapop Thongtub

Phuket construction worker found dead after 'debt collecting' fight

PHUKET: A man who was found battered and deceased in a Phuket apartment room this morning most likely perished from injuries he allegedly sustained from a fight over a debt owed to him, police said.

At 8.30am today, Phuket city police received an alert from Pongpan Mansion on Pattana Soi 1 off Pattana road in Phuket Town’s Talad Yai sub district, that a body had been discovered in one of its rooms, but the cause of death was unknown.

Investigators and Kusoldharm Rescue workers dispatched to the scene, a four-story apartment and met a property attendant who led them to a ground floor room, the door of which was already open.

Inside the room, which was in dissaray, they found a deceased male who was laying on the floor, nude with only a blanket covering his lower half.

Surrounding the body were various personal items scattered throughout.

Police were told that the door had been opened with a spare key by the apartment attendant, along with a friend of the deceased who had been concerned that morning when he received no answer to knocks on the door.

The deceased was identified as Mr Nopphon Inchai, 39, of Chiang Rai’s Wiengchai district.

An initial examination of the battered body found various scrapes and bruises, including two black eyes and a large wound on the left side of his head.

It was estimated that he had had been dead no less than 6 to 9 hours.

Other than the various items on the floor, police did not find any evidence of a robbery and the body was sent to Vachira Hospital for an autopsy.

Investigators learned that Mr Nopphon was a construction contractor who specialized in residential utility line installations, and had rented the room at the mansion by himself.

They also found out that Mr Nopphon on March 12 had attempted to collect owed debts from both Thai and “alien” construction workers at a construction site on Soi Ta-Iad land off Jao Fa East Rd in Chalong.

It is understood that Mr Nopphon had previously unsuccessfully attempted to collect the debt, the amount and nature of which was undisclosed.

However, on this final attempt, the construction workers not only refused to pay back the debt, they gained up on him, causing said injuries.

According to police, the friend told them he had visited a battered Mr Nopphon on March 13, and tried to persuade him to seek medical attention, but to no avail, so instead left him there alone until he was discovered dead the next day.

Police believe that the victim likely had suffered a fatal infection from one of his injuries, and that the “messy room” was more likely the doing of the victim and “his nature”.

Nonetheless, Phuket City Police are working with Chalong Police to continue with the investigation.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-construction-worker-found-dead-after-debt-collecting-fight-51410.php

-- Phuket News 2015-03-14