Police were today investigating the mystery 'murder' of a Thai transgender woman found dead in a canal.

Shocked locals noticed the body of Ayajang Sorakul, 22, dumped in the dirty water behind a market in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand, on Wednesday afternoon November 23.

She was wearing long jeans and a black tube top with pieces of white cloth tied around her upper arms. While in her pocket was a Louis Vuitton key chain and a set of Mazda car keys.

Police officers who arrived at the scene with paramedics found that Ayajang appeared to have suffered wounds to her head from a suspected attack.

They are now searching for suspects after the post-mortem examination results showed that Ayajang had allegedly been murdered before being dumped in the water.

Lieutenant colonel Natthaphon Udnoi from the Khlong Luang Police Station said: 'The victim had long hair that had been dyed reddish brown.

'He had tattoos on his back and had undergone a breast augmentation procedure as well as plastic surgery on his nose. There was a naval piercing and bracelet on his left arm and a ring on his left finger.

'The initial examination of the body at the scene showed a deep wound, like a blunt force hitting the center of the forehead deep to the skull.'

Police said the victim is believed to have been dead for between 12 and 16 hours.

Resident Oh Saengthuam, 38, who lives near where the body was found, said he had heard people arguing the night before.

A fisherman then raised the alarm after noticing the corpse floating face down at lunchtime the next day.

Oh said: 'Last night at about midnight I heard the sound of people arguing loudly coming from the bridge leading to the village. At 1 am, the sound was silent, so I thought it had been teenagers arguing.'

Another villager also told police that they had heard teenagers riding motorcycles and shouting the night before. Officers are now investigating where the two incidents are connected.

Lieutenant colonel Natthaphon Udnoi added: 'Police are checking CCTV cameras to identify everybody that the victim was in contact with. We can trace the killer using the surveillance footage.'