BUKIT MERTAJAM, Penang (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A decomposed body of a man with his right wrist cut off was found inside the cemetery of the Catholic church in Jalan Sungai Lembu, Machang Bubok near Bukit Mertajam, which is a district on the mainland of Malaysia's Penang state.

Penang Criminal Investigation Department deputy chief P. R. Gunarajan said the police rushed to the scene after being alerted by the members of the public at 10.50am on Thursday, Christmas Day.

He said the unidentified man, believed to be a foreigner in his early 30s, was found clad in a red singlet with words "Love, Ride and Magic" and jeans and red canvass shoes.

The body was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for a post mortem.

The police believe that the dead man was killed elsewhere before being dumped in the area, according to Bernama.

A second body, of a man also believed to be a foreigner, was found on the same road that afternoon, about 3km from where the first body was found, Bernama reported the police as saying.

But the police think the second case is unrelated to the first one, as the second body did not have any wounds, Bernama reported.