Korean’s death puzzles police

MANILA, Philippines—Police probers are facing a blank wall in their investigation into the death of a Korean man whose decomposing body was found in the water tank of a condominium in Parañaque City.

Before he died, Kim Ji-hun, 38, was caught on a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera running although it was not known if he was chasing or running away from someone. His body was found in the water tank of the condominium in Sucat on Saturday, said Senior Supt. Andrei Felix, Parañaque police chief.

“From the CCTV [camera footage], we can only see him running. If he was running away from someone, the footage doesn’t show [that],” Felix said in a phone interview. He added that the autopsy results showed that the victim had drowned.

“There was no sign of any physical injury… so it’s hard to say if his death was an accident or if there was foul play,” he said. The police, however, have yet to determine how the Korean ended up inside the water tank.

“If it was an accident, how was he able to [get into] the water tank?” Felix said, adding that the police were interviewing the condominium’s staff. He added that the relatives of the Korean had arrived in Manila and met police investigators together with a Korean Embassy official.—Niña P. Calleja