American found dead in Makati hotel room

The top official of a company which supplies industrial products to Southeast Asia was found dead in his hotel room in Makati City Monday morning.

The police identified the victim as William Stuart McArthur,  61, the American chief executive officer of Zi-TechAsia which has offices in Manila, Indonesia and Thailand.

City police chief Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban said McArthur was found lying on the bathroom floor of his room at a hotel on Ayala Avenue at 9 a.m.

This was after his colleague told the hotel management that the victim failed to show up for a breakfast meeting.

“We are investigating the incident. But we are suspecting he died of natural causes,” Lukban said, adding an autopsy would be conducted to determine what caused McArthur’s death.

He added that the American’s body bore no external injuries and there were no signs of a struggle inside his room. There were, however, medicines for heart disease.

The businessman who was based in Indonesia had just arrived in Manila on Sunday to attend business functions. Case investigator SPO1 Alfred Reyes said the Makati police met with US Embassy officials to turn over the victim’s valuables.