At 2pm yesterday (Aug 20), Deputy Investigator of Phuket City Police Station Capt Udom Petchrat was informed by the Kusoldharm rescue foundation that the body of a man had been found floating face down in a canal in Koh Kaew.
Capt Udom, Lt Col Nikorn Chutong, Lt Col Pongpichan Chayanonpiriya, and other police officers arrived to the scene to find a body with only black shorts on floating about 15 metres away from the edge of the canal.
Rescuer workers swam to the body and used a rope to pull it from the water.
Officials noted that the body had gold necklaces and amulets around the neck and a watch on the left wrist. There were no signs of trauma on his body. Officials also noted that he had been dead for at least three days.
A Phuket-registered Honda Dream was also found close to the scene and was later confirmed to have belonged to the deceased.
Police found on the bike an ID card for the Koh Kaew Health Center with the deceased’s name on it. They also found a blue cap and green short-sleeved T-shirt left at the edge of the canal.
As police and rescue workers retrieved the body out of the canal, the deceased wife arrived at the scene and later confirmed it was that of her missing husband, 43-year-old Mr Suphiab Sanglay.
After confirming the body was that of her husband, Ms Aom Puangnin, 52, broke down and fell unconscious. She was taken with her husband’s body to Vachira Phuket Hospital.
According to the preliminary investigation, the deceased was living with his wife on Soi Kaew 33, Thepkrasattri Rd, Koh Kaew, about 2 kilometres from the where the body was found.
Ms Aom told officers that Mr Suphiab often became drunk from alcohol consumption.
On Friday (Aug 18), Mr Suphiab told his wife he was going out fishing, however, after he did not return for two days Ms Aom notified the village headman, who conducted a search for him. However they could not find him.
Mr Suphiab is believed to have gone fishing and drowned possibly due to alcohol consumption. However, police will continue their investigation, said Capt Udom.