PHUKET – Police have launched a forensic investigation Friday afternoon after local residents discovered the badly decomposed body of a foreign man beside a canal near a palm plantation in Patong, raising urgent fears that the remains belong to a 65-year-old South African tourist missing for a week.
Officers from Patong Police Station responded at 2 p.m. to the scene along Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road in Kathu district, where Thai news outlet Thairath reported the victim was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt, black trousers and black shoes matching the outfit worn by missing visitor Devendren Naicker when he vanished on Nov. 6. Forensic doctors at Patong Hospital are conducting an autopsy to confirm the man’s identity and determine whether foul play caused his death.
Key Takeaways
- Local residents found the decomposed body of an unidentified foreign man at 2 p.m. Friday beside a canal on Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road in Patong.
- The victim’s all-black clothing matches that of 65-year-old South African tourist Devendren Naicker, who disappeared hours after checking into his hotel on Nov. 6.
- Patong police sent the remains to Patong Hospital for autopsy and are reviewing surveillance footage to determine if foul play occurred.
Timeline of a Sudden Disappearance
Naicker checked into his Patong hotel at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 for a weeklong stay scheduled through Nov. 13. According to police, he called his daughter in South Africa to confirm his safe arrival before stepping out toward a nearby market around 6:30 p.m., leaving his luggage untouched inside his room.
His phone went dead shortly afterward, and a location-tracking app stopped updating. When he failed to return, hotel staff filed a missing person report with Patong police on Nov. 9. Phuket Member of Parliament Chalermpong Saengdee joined rescue volunteers from the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation at the canal site Friday, where medical responders estimated the body had been exposed to the tropical heat for five to seven days.
Urban Hazards Behind Patong’s Tourist Strip
The discovery highlights persistent safety vulnerabilities along the backstreets and drainage waterways bordering Phuket’s busiest resort district. While Patong’s beachfront draws millions of international visitors, inland arteries like Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road cut past dense commercial blocks, overgrown palm plots and poorly lit drainage canals that carry runoff from the Kathu hills toward the Andaman Sea.
Solo older travelers unfamiliar with Patong’s rapid transition from neon-lit nightlife zones to unguarded canal embankments face heightened risks after dark, especially when disoriented or managing sensory impairments. Naicker’s daughter, Lavanya Naicker, told reporters her father is hard of hearing and struggled with mobile technology, factors that complicated early search efforts before she began arranging emergency travel to Thailand.
Investigators are withholding formal identification until forensic specialists complete DNA and dental comparisons alongside a full postmortem exam. Detectives from Patong Police Station are also pulling closed-circuit television recordings from the hotel exterior and intersections leading toward the palm plantation to track the man’s final movements and determine whether he walked to the canal alone or encountered another person.
