Man hangs self in “Burmese cemetery’

RASSADA: Volunteer rescue workers early yesterday evening recovered the body of an unidentified man, believed to be Burmese, hanging by the neck from a tree in a mangrove forest off Soi Honsaitong, near the fishing port.

The body was discovered by a man looking for shellfish in the area, about 100 meters off Soi Kobkulnusorn, Lt Maj Keerati Triwai of Phuket City Police told the Gazette.

Kusoldharm Foundation volunteers had trouble recovering the body, which was suspended about five meters off the ground by a nylon rope tied to a mangrove tree, he said.

As the man was dressed in a blue T-shirt and Burmese-style sarong, police presume the man was Burmese, Lt Maj Keerati said.

Local residents were unable to identify him and no ID card was recovered, he added.

Muddy footprints on the tree indicate that the man had climbed the tree and hanged himself, Lt Maj Keerati said.

There were no signs of foul play, he added.

Police estimate the man was in his early- to mid-thirties and died at least 12 hours before his body was discovered.

Police will continue to try and learn the man’s identity, Maj Keerati said.

The death is an oddity in the area, which has become notorious for the frequent stabbing murders there, earning the area the nickname the “Burmese cemetery”.