A British teenager is believed to have been brutally murdered and dumped in a forest in Thailand while an urgent search is underway for his missing girlfriend.
Dual national Woramet Ben Taota, 16, went for a motorcycle ride with the girlfriend in Lampang province on May 6 - but neither of them returned to their homes.
Police officers from the Mae Tha district said they received a report the following morning that the teenager, known to friends as Ben, had been found dead in a grove in the Ban Than district.
Ben - a keen motocross rider - was lying next to a thicket, wearing a black sweater and grey jeans. His head and face were covered in blood after reportedly being hit repeatedly with a blunt object.
Officers found in his black shoulder bag a smartphone charger and a red wallet containing his ID card and bank card. His smartphone and cash were missing, with police suggesting he could have been robbed.
Police believe Ben was killed elsewhere and dumped in the woods as there were no signs of struggle where his remains were found.
His female companion is still missing.
Police Colonel Sittisak Singtongla, superintendent of the Mae Tha Police, said: "The station received a notification at 10.15am that a deceased person was found in the undergrowth.
"The investigating team went to the area and found the victim with blood stains all over his face. The face and head were found to have been beaten with a hard object until swelling and bruising was caused. There was also a deep wound in his face.
"The body has been taken to hospital for an autopsy.
"We are currently tracking down individuals close to the victim, including his female companion. She is a key figure in this case since she is the last person to see him alive."
The police said they are not ruling out any motives, attributing the killing to a possible love affair, a personal conflict, or a work dispute.
Police Colonel Sittisak added: "We have not yet finalized the issue. It is still unclear whether it was a robbery, because the phone and cash of the deceased were not found, but we still cannot rule out other issues."
