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Investigators examine a taxi in which its driver was found murdered in Niigata's Higashi Ward on Monday morning. (Mainichi)

NIIGATA -- A taxi driver was found murdered in his car parked on a road here, sparking a police investigation.

Tsugio Abe, 63, a driver for Sanyo Taxi in Niigata's Higashi Ward, was found dead with his upper body covered in blood inside a taxi parked on a road in the ward at around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, police said.

A colleague, who found the body in the vehicle, contacted police, and Niigata Higashi Police Station set up an investigation task force after determining the case to be murder. Since the driver's takings were missing, police further suspect the case to be murder-robbery.

According to investigators, Abe was found in the driver's seat with a stab wound to his neck. No weapon has been found inside the taxi. The vehicle was parked on a road near a supermarket with its left front wheel driven onto the sidewalk and its engine still running.

Abe's work shift was from 7 a.m. through 11 p.m. Sunday. Although he often worked overtime for an hour or so, his delayed return prompted his colleague to search and locate Abe's car using a GPS system.

Investigators suspect that Abe is likely to have been attacked by an assailant who posed as a customer.