November 5th 2023.
For more than 10 years, the mystery of Lewisham Man's death has remained unsolved. Now, Buddhist-style tattoos that are pictured on his body may provide a vital clue in solving the case.
The tattoos, which are believed to be of the ‘Sak Yant’ style, offer protection against magical and physical harm. In a renewed effort, a team of volunteer detectives at Locate International have reissued the images and created a new portrait in an appeal for information.
On April 1, 2010, the East Asian man, aged between 40 and 50, was found collapsed in a street in Lewisham, south London, having suffered a cardiac arrest. He was taken to Lewisham Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Despite the presence of an Oyster card, a mobile phone and four tablets in his possession, nothing was found that could lead to his identification.
The man’s distinguishing features included four tattoos on his legs and arms, which may have been inked in the Far East, possibly Thailand. To investigate the case further, a team of civilian investigator Bill Anderson and facial recognition expert Hew Morrison are now working as part of the UK charity’s dedicated investigation team.
The man is described by the National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Unit as ‘oriental’ and of slim build. He had four tattoos on his body in a style known as Sak Yant, meaning protection from harm, where the markings are added using bamboo. The designs include a square with three rising pinnacles on the upper right arm, a circle with five rising pinnacles on the upper left arm, a dog-like animal with a spear shape on the front right thigh, and a mermaid-style image on the front left thigh.
Mr Anderson, a former police officer with experience in the UK and Hong Kong, said: ‘This is a case where we have extremely limited information; for example we don’t know what clothing the gentleman was wearing at the time, which might trigger someone’s memory. He did have certain items in his possession, including a mobile phone, four unidentified tablets and an Oyster card suggesting he was travelling at least locally, and it would be incredibly helpful to know more details about those.’
The team has consulted an expert in Thailand who has said that the tattoos likely signify that the man was Buddhist. They also hope that first responders or Lewisham hospital staff may be able to shed further light on where he was found, his clothing and any other details that they are currently unaware of.
Forensic artist Hew Morrison was able to produce a new depiction of how the Lewisham Man would have looked at the time of his death. The imaging expert studied a mortuary photograph that was at a slightly awkward angle before producing the frontal portrait using software and his vast library of stock images.
Locate International was founded by two former detectives who came to understand that police forces only have limited resources to continue missing people and unidentified bodies cold cases. The charity now has almost 350 volunteer investigators, mostly in the UK, including a former radiologist, an accountant and a marketing executive.
The charity’s CEO and co-founder Dave Grimstead said: ‘We understand if there is any reluctance to come forward with information in this case, but you can contact us confidentially, and there is no need for you to give us any personal information. If you think you recognise him in any way, or if any of the tattoos sound familiar, then please contact us: even the smallest piece of information can help our investigation.’
If you have any information, please contact Locate International by emailing
[email protected], calling 0300 102 1011 or visiting https://locate.international/lewisham-man-appeal-2023/
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