SURAT THANI: A 32-year-old Ukrainian man has been found hanged with both hands tied behind his back at a durian plantation on the tourist island of Koh Samui.
Police, forensic officials, a doctor and rescue workers went to the plantation on Tha Sok mountain at village Moo 3 in tambon Maret on Wednesday night after being alerted, said Pol Capt Rawi Na Boonno, deputy investigation chief at Bo Phut police station on the island.
A four-wheel drive pickup truck was needed to take the team up the steep track to the site.
The body of a foreign man, wearing only shorts, was found hanged by the neck with a green nylon rope from a branch of a durian tree. His face was covered with a red T-shirt and his hands were tied behind his back with a cable tie. He was wearing black sports shoes. A new chair was found fallen on the ground near his feet. The body had begun to decompose and a foul odour was spreading.
Police found a wallet containing cash in Thai currency, a Ukrainian passport, a Thai driving licence, a pair of black glasses, a watch and a packet of painkillers.
The officers believed the man had been dead for five or six days before the body was discovered. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives.
Local residents told police that area where the body was found was isolated and outsiders seldom went there, except durian growers and plantation workers. On the day the body was found, workers noticed a strong odour and they went to find the source. When they got to the site, they immediately alerted police.
A preliminary investigation showed that the Ukrainian man had been staying at a hotel in tambon Maret where Ukrainian tourists stayed in groups. He had lived in Samui for several years and was reported to have suffered from depression, said police.
Video from a closed-circuit television camera showed the man in a red T-shirt hiring a taxi to take him to the foothills of Tha Sok mountain heading to the plantation.