LAHAD DATU, Nov 14 — The partially clothed body of a foreign woman with slashes on the neck and blunt force trauma on the head was found in a banana plantation in Kampung Pisang, near here this morning.

The police are not ruling out that the 36-year-old mother of five, who worked as a roti canai maker at a restaurant, was a victim of rape and robbery, said Lahad Datu police chief ACP Rohan Shah Ahmad.

"The victim had left her house at 6.15am but did not turn up for work. Her employer called the family and they went out looking along her usual route to the restaurant. They found her lifeless body in the bushes,” he said in a statement.

He said forensics at the site found traces of semen on the body, and her mobile phone as well as money, were also missing.

The body has been sent to the Forensics Department of the Lahad Datu Hospital for post-mortem and police are on the hunt for the suspect, he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

He appealed to members of the public with any information on the case to contact the nearest police station or Criminal Investigation Division chief, ASP Kharuddin Husain at 013-9071709. — Bernama