Philippine police said Monday that they have identified an apparent bludgeoning victim, whose body was found nearly a week ago in a village in Cavite Province, 17 km south of Manila, as Hitoshi Takahashi, 43, originally from Japan.
The body was discovered next to the road in Bayanan village early Jan. 12, but it took several days to identify the deceased.
Police suspect that Takahashi, who was based in Davao Province on the southern island of Mindanao, was struck in the head with a hard object until he died. The body was then dumped in Cavite to mislead investigators.
Takahashi was found dressed in a striped shirt, brown pants, leather shoes and sunglasses, a police report said.
A wallet containing a phone number led investigators to his wife, Amalia, who identified the body. It is still unclear what the victim did for a living, although initial reports said he was a trader.