Battered body found in rubber plantation

CHALONG, PHUKET: Police have yet to identify the body of a man found beaten to death in a rubber plantation off Soi Nakok early Friday morning.

Chalong Police Duty Officer Anukul Nuket was notified of the body’s discovery at 9:30 am and went to the scene, about half a kilometer from Chao Fa West Rd on Soi Nakok in Chalong Village 5.

Accompanying police were workers from the nearby Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation and Village 5 headman Padej Lookjun.

The body, several meters down a steep slope, was that of an Asian male with short hair, approximately 30 years of age and about 165 centimeters tall.

Dressed only in a pair of blue jeans, the man suffered severe head wounds from a one-meter length of bloodstained metal found about 20 meters from the body.

Police believe the man was lured to the remote location by at least two other people, then beaten to death. It appears his attackers then dragged his body to the edge of the slope and rolled it down in an attempt to conceal it.

A search of the victim’s pockets found no identification card or other materials that could help to identify him. Police estimated he was killed about six hours before they had arrived.

No local residents were able to identify the man, and none of those questioned said they had ever seen him before.

Although at least one Thai-language daily carried a graphic image of the deceased, police have yet to identify him.

To view the image, which some readers may find disturbing, click here.

Anyone with information that might help identify the man should contact Chalong Police on 076-381247 or 076-381974.

Lt Col Anukul told the Gazette today that police believe the victim was a migrant worker from a neighboring country, quite possibly Burma.

His body remains at the Vachira Phuket Hospital morgue pending identification.