Rotting body “was executed’

THALANG: The bloated and rotting body of a murdered man was found Saturday in a rubber plantation next to the entrance to the Bang Pae waterfall in Thalang. Pol Maj Jaroon Plaiduang of Thalang Police Station said that police had not been able to identify the victim because the corpse had been rotting for about seven days. However, they suspect the dead man was Burmese. Residents near the plantation discovered the decomposing body after tracking down its horrible stench. The victim, thought to have been between 20 and 30 years old, was wearing only a black T-shirt, though a loincloth stained with blood was also found near the body. The victim’s face was covered in blood and riddled with maggots. His hands were tied behind him with nylon string, and the back of his neck had a severe gash in it, indicating that he was killed execution-style. Police suspect that the murder took place elsewhere, as they found near the body a rice sack containing hair from the victim and traces of blood. Maj Jaroon suggested that the victim was Burmese and not Thai, saying, “If he were Thai, he would at least have been wearing underwear.” This conclusion was strengthened by the fact that there was no ID on the body, and the community around the plantation is made up of Burmese workers, both legal and illegal.