MANILA, Philippines — Roving Pasay City policemen stumbled early Sunday onto the macabre sight of the body of a Chinese-looking man hanging from a lamp post.
Until Monday, the alleged suicide, who appeared to be Chinese and was described to be between 40 and 50 years old, five-foot-seven inches tall, of medium build and clad in a black shirt worn over maong pants, remained unidentified.
Chief Inspector Joey Goforth, head of the Pasay City police station investigation and detective management section, said that the body was found at around 1 a.m., Sunday, along Roxas Boulevard near William Street in Pasay City.
Goforth revealed that before the discovery, operatives of the Pasay City police community precinct 1 were aboard their vehicle, conducting routine patrol along Roxas Boulevard when one of the policemen spotted what seemed like a body hanging from a lamp post.
A cop on the driver’s seat immediately stepped on the brakes so that he and his colleagues could investigate the sighting. They verified that it was a human body hanging limply from the trunk of the lamp post with a nylon cord looped around his neck.
The alleged suicide’s belongings — a toothbrush, toothpaste, a pair of reading glasses, a baseball cap, and a pair of slippers — all contained in a pink plastic bag, were discovered inside a plant box several meters away from the lamp post.
Goforth disclosed that several hours before the discovery, at around 10 p.m. Saturday, Barangay (village) 13 Zone 4 officials, Manuel Banga and Melvin Aduana, spotted the same man sitting near the vicinity of the lamp post.
The barangay patrolmen noticed that the Chinese-looking man seemed depressed and decided not to bother him. But when they returned several hours after, the police had already cordoned off the area and they saw the same man hanging from the lamp post.
The police chief investigator said that the body bore a ligature mark around his neck and was brought to the Rizal funeral parlor for autopsy and safekeeping.
He pointed out that the possibility of foul play has not been ruled out in the case.