5:59am UK, Thursday September 08, 2005

A naked western woman who is unable to speak has been found sitting on a beach in Hong Kong.

In echoes of Britain's Piano Man mystery, there are no clues to the woman's identity and no indication of how she got there.

She has spent the last week in a hospital bed, staring into space, mute and expressionless.

Her hospital charts name her as "Unknown."

"We've tried interpreters in many different languages and sign-language experts but none of them appear to get though to her," said chief inspector Victor Ng.

So far interpreters have been called in to speak to Hong Kong's mysterious woman in English, French and Portuguese as well as Indian and Pakistani languages.

The woman is believed to be aged between 35 and 45, slightly built at 1.6 metres tall and with light brown shoulder-length hair.

"I would describe her as mentally disturbed, not retarded, but mentally confused by something," Ng said.

"She has not said a word, she has shown absolutely no emotion whatsoever."

The identity of Britain's mysterious Piano Man was revealed last month as German Andreas Grassl.

The 20-year-old spent 134 days in care without uttering a word after he was found wandering on a beach in Kent.

It is thought he faked the condition.