Thai police on Wednesday identified the foreigner whose head was found hanging from Rama VIII Bridge in Bangkok as Italian Maurizio Tosadori, 53.

Deputy Police Chief Pol Gen Jongrak Jutanont said that guesthouse owner, Wimon Jaijong, contacted police and confirmed that the dead man was Tosadori.

Police initially believed the dead man was another Italian, Jaeta Jiovanni, and distributed his photographs asking the public for help in making a positive identification.

Jongrak said in a press conference on Wednesday that Jiovanni already contacted his embassy in Bangkok and confirmed that he is still alive.

"After being alerted by Khun Wimon, police went to search a room at Wimon's guesthouse on Samsen Road, Phranakhon district, where Tasadori was staying. Found in the room was Tasadori's passport, which showed that he entered Thailand on February 6 this year from Cambodia," Jongrak told reporters.

Also found was a letter written in English dated February 21, 2009 addressed to Wimon, which read, "Thank you very much for everything. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The letter was signed by Tasadori.

Photos found in the room showed that Tasadori had a small lump to the left of his forehead, Jongrak said, the head found hanging from the bridge had a lump at the same position. His identity documents revealed that Tasadori was an architect.

"Tasadori had stayed at Khun Wimon's guesthouse for more than two weeks without paying any rental fees. Recently, Wimon asked him to move out as she wanted the room for other guests. Maybe Tasadori had no place to go and felt guilty, so he committed suicide.

"That's why he wrote a note apologising to Wimon, said Jongrak. Tasadori had previously visited Thailand on several occasions."

Wimon told reporters that Tasadori went missing from the guesthouse on February 21 and she tried to reach his mobile phone but failed.

"Maurizio was poor and a chain smoker. He felt sick several times. He always left the guesthouse in the morning to find a job. He came back in the afternoon and had dinner at the guesthouse's restaurant. During his stay, he gave me Bt2,000, saying it was for his meals," she said.

He told Wimon that he wanted to marry and have children.