Dead man in woods “killed himself’

KARON: The man who was found dead in the woods to the east of Karon two days ago has been identified as Prasert Chuwong, 42, a former cook at Chao-Kuen Restaurant in Kata. According to Pol Col Sati Malakanond, the superintendent of Chalong Police Station, Prasert was left jobless after the restaurant went out of business some time ago. Based on the evidence found at the scene, along with further results from the autopsy and information from Prasert’s family, the police now believe the man hanged himself. At the scene where the body was found, police discovered Prasert’s sandals neatly placed at the base of a tree, along with a gold bracelet. A blue and pink Thai-style wraparound was tied to a branch of the tree. Prasert left his wallet and glasses at home, said Col Sati, perhaps because he felt ashamed and wanted to hide his identity. The police have ruled out murder because they felt it was most unlikely that anyone would have been able to drag Prasert up into the tree to hang him from the branch, which was about six or seven meters from the ground. He must, they reason, have climbed up there on his own. Prasert’s daughter told the police that the last time her family saw him was while they were having dinner on January 5. “Out of nowhere, my dad just told us that it would be his last meal,” she said. In the early morning of the next day, Prasert left the house and was seen walking into the woods. The family believes that Prasert hanged himself because he was unemployed and was depressed that he had to rely on his wife and daughter for support. His body has now been collected by the family and will be cremated shortly.