The man whose old bank employee ID card was found in Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem beside Government House along with an unidentified decomposed corpse has been located and is still alive, police said yesterday.
The discovery of the corpse made headlines because of where it was found during a search for weapons possibly left from past political rallies.
The canal was adjacent to the former rally site of the Network for Students and People for Reform of Thailand — an ally of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee.
Pol Lt Co Wanchai Chujit, deputy chief of Nang Loeng police station, said Charnsiri Chaonatai, whose old employee ID card was found by divers near the decomposed corpse on Wednesday afternoon, told police the card belonged to his previous employers.
Three years ago his car was broken into while it was parked near the canal and some documents including his employee ID card were taken, Pol Lt Co Wanchai said.
Mr Chansiri lodged a complaint about the break-in with Samran Rat police station, he said.
At the time he worked for the the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives, but now he works for the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority.
He said he would invite Mr Chansiri in for more questioning related to the case.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj Gen Pornchai Suthirakhun, chief of the police Institute of Forensic Medicine, said the body found in the canal was a 25-year-old man about 168cm tall.
A diver later retrieved a decomposed body from under the bridge about 2pm. The body was wrapped in a fertiliser sack and tent canvas with a sand bag being used to weigh it down.
The corpse was wearing a pair of trousers with a waist line measuring about 31 inches, he said. A motorcycle spark plug was found in the trousers, Pol Maj Gen Pornchai said. Investigators determined the man died between three to six weeks ago and that all his impacted teeth were intact.
Those who suspected the corpse could be that of their missing relatives are advised to contact the forensic institute to identify the body.