A Swedish businessman who disappeared from his hotel room in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh has been found dead by local police, who suspect that he was murdered.

The 45-year-old went missing on Thursday the 12th of November. His body was found the following day in the southern suburb of Kandal, reports The Local.

The man had been living in the south-east Asian country for a number of years. He ran a hotel and tourism operation in Sihanoukville, on the southern coast. Sihanoukville has long been plagued by ex-pat deaths as its location has attracted large numbers of small overseas business owners keen to exploit lax company law and abundant nightlife.

According to local police, the man had met a woman through an online service and was seen leaving the hotel by staff in her company on Thursday evening. A subsequent search of the man’s hotel room found that the safety deposit box had been forced open in what is believed to be a well thought out robbery by a local crime syndicate.

Police suspect he was murdered although they did not comment on whether that would have been part of the plan. The investigation is continuing with police viewing CCTV tapes from the hotel.

The Swedish foreign ministry was immediately notified as were the man’s next of kin. “We have received information that the body has been found and that he has been identified. With all probability it is question of murder,” said Karl-Anders Larsson from the Swedish embassy in Cambodian capital.