Detectives found the body of Hans Peter Ralter Mack, 62, as they were conducting a search based on surveillance camera footage. Police were trying to find the whereabouts of the German who went missing from his family on July 4.
Forensic officers were examining the scene to determine the cause of death, reports Bangkok Post.
Pol Maj Gen Theerachai Chamnanmor, investigative chief of the Provincial Police Region 2, said there was evidence pointing to the offenders. He attributed the death to extortion, adding that about B2 million had been transferred from the man’s bank account.
Earlier yesterday police said they have identified a woman believed to have pointed Mack out to his abductors, and the recipient of money paid by Mack.
Investigators were compiling their case to apply for court warrants and he expected an arrest in the near future.
“The case concerns assets. The offender seemed to know that Mr Mack had assets. Detectives must find out if he knew Mr Mack personally,” deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said yesterday.
Police would also look into the business activities of other people in the case, he said.
On July 5 Mack’s 24-year-old Thai wife, whose name was not released, told investigators that he had left their house in Swiss Paradise housing estate in Pattaya, Chon Buri, on July 4 to meet a foreign property broker. The meeting was to discuss property sales in Pattaya and Koh Samui of Surat Thani province.
Mack’s silver Mercedes-Benz E350 coupe was found in the CC Condominium parking lot on Khao Noi Road in tambon Nong Prue on Sunday morning.
Inside the car police found stains of a chemical cleanser apparently used in an attempt to destroy evidence.
According to his wife, she had been living with the German for about five years. The man had two sons from a previous marriage.