BANGKOK – Thai police are investigating the suspected murder of a Swiss woman whose body was discovered near a waterfall at a popular beach resort.
Officers found the victim, named as Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, lying face down covered in a black sheet, in the water among rocks near a beauty spot on Phuket Island yesterday.
The case has cast a shadow over Phuket’s so-called “Sandbox” scheme, a pilot project to reopen the country’s coronavirus-devastated tourism sector after more than a year of draconian travel curbs.
The 57-year-old Sauvain-Weisskopf had travelled to Phuket under the scheme, which allows vaccinated travellers to visit the island without going through Thailand’s otherwise mandatory two-week hotel quarantine.
The results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death are expected later today, but officials believe she died at least three days ago.
Cops found her mobile phone, shorts and trainers near the body.
Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew pledged to “do everything to investigate what happened and bring justice to Ms Nicole”.
Andrea Kotas Tammathin, honorary Swiss consul in Phuket, lamented what she called “a sad, sad day for the Phuket community”.
More than 16,000 people have arrived on the island since the July 1 launch of the Sandbox scheme.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and asked to be regularly updated on the probe, said a government spokesman. – AFP, August 6, 2021
