Unidentified body found with kratom leaves in Chalong

PHUKET: A man believed to be collecting kratom leaves in the wild was found dead with burn wounds in Phuket this morning, said Lt Chollada Chokdeesrijun of the Chalong Police.

“We have been unable to identify the man, who appears to have been in his 20s, or to determine the cause of death,” Lt Chollada told the Phuket Gazette. “There are clearly electrical burn wounds on parts of his body. However, it is unclear where or how he received them.”

The man was found on Soi San Jao Guan Oo, opposite a migrant labor camp, wearing a black t-shirt, boxer shorts and carrying a cloth bag with a branch of kratom leaves in it.

“We questioned local residents about the man – he did have a distinctive tattoo on his right arm – but nobody knew him. There are also no missing person reports in our area that he might be associated with,” Lt Chollada said.

“We believe he died about three hours before he was discovered, which was at about 7:30am today.”

The body was taken to Vachria Phuket Hospital to determine the cause of death. Police are continuing their investigation, confirmed Lt Chollada.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong