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Barclay Crawford

Lack of progress in solving bizarre case frustrates police

Police are debating whether to boost the $700,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest of the murderer of Thai woman Charitar Kamolnoranath  or to withdraw it.

They are frustrated at the lack of progress in solving the crime.

The body of the 41-year-old businesswoman was found hidden in the government's  tax office in October.

Police said the investigation was 'ongoing' but admitted investigators were not close to solving the bizarre murder.

Charitar's body was found in a supposedly secure machine room on the 33rd floor of Revenue Tower in Wan Chai, 13 days after she disappeared on October 24, giving her killer or killers plenty of time to flee the city.

There has been speculation she may have been the victim of a contract killing because of the ritualistic nature of her murder.

Some suggest it could have had some connection to trafficking in women between Thailand and Hong Kong.

Her body, with one stab wound in the side, was dumped on top of an air-conditioning unit, 3 metres off the ground.

Her shoes were placed above her head, which is considered an insult in Thai culture.

There is no security camera record of her or her assailants entering  the  building, which caused embarrassment at the time because the offices were being used to plan December's World Trade Organisation  conference.

Following the discovery of her body, a Post reporter twice visited Revenue Tower and wandered through the building unchallenged, visiting the 33rd floor and the WTO planning offices.

A security review of the Revenue and Immigration towers in Wan Chai led to  an increase in   guards and closed-circuit TV monitors.

Charitar had been in Hong Kong with her filmmaker boyfriend, who was planning to make a movie called Count to Ten, about a spate of mystery killings in a big city. The movie has since been scrapped.

A spokeswoman for the Thai consul-general admitted there had been no significant developments in the investigation and that  they were still waiting for a death certificate.

'We have been trying to get information from  police for the family but we don't think there is anything new to tell them,' the spokeswoman said.

'We would like to see the reward continued or even increased but we don't know if it will be.'

The reward  expires on July 23.

'There is still almost a month to go and the investigation is continuing,' a police official said.

'We have still not decided what we will do.'



Debate on cash reward for Thai murder lead