A man who had been missing since last Friday was found dead yesterday in an abandoned canefield with hands tied behind his back.

Mandath Ramdath, an Unemployment Relief Programme worker, was last seen leaving his home at St Charles Village, Manahambre Road, near Princes Town, last Friday.

His corpse was found by relatives searching for him around 11 a.m. yesterday.

’They went looking in the canefield and something was smelling really bad. When they checked they saw him,’ his brother Seusankar Ramdath said.

Ramdath was at the Express South Bureau office seeking the public’s help in finding his missing brother when the body was found.

’It has been too long. He never stayed over by anyone, so I feel something bad happened. Maybe he is dead,’ he had said earlier.

The body of the 52-year-old man was found at Coconut Avenue, off St Charles Road, near the family’s home. Police believe Ramdath, a father of three, died the day he vanished. There were marks of violence about the body, police said. His boots were removed and Ramdath’s belt was near his head.

Ramdath moved in with his elderly parents after he and his wife separated several years ago, relatives said. He was described as a quiet, hard-working man.

’I cannot say that he had any enemies, but I heard rumours that he was telling people a man who worked with him was threatening him. I don’t know if that is true. But we have given the police the information,’ his brother said. The body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James, where an autopsy will be performed. - CK