A 76-year-old American man has been found dead inside a house in Tak province, police said on Tuesday.
Paul Milford Muller (Photo from mullerpaulm.com)
Paul Milford Muller was a former official at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and the Jet Propulsion Lab, and the author of three books.
According to his website, he worked for 10 years at Nasa/JPL and served as a senior member of the Apollo navigation team.
Pol Col Ekarat Intasueb, chief of Mae Sot police station, said Muller was found with a rope tied around his genitals and waist and another rope tied around his neck, hanging from a knob of his bedroom door.
He said there was no sign that the American had been assaulted.
Equipment for injecting crystal methamphetamine, five methamphetamine pills and several sex toys were also found in the room.
Muller appeared to have died from asphyxiation or from a heart attack after a drug overdose, police said.
His body had started decomposing and giving off a bad odour. Police suspect he had been dead about three days when his body was found. It was sent to Mae Sot hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Police were trying to contact his relatives to take charge of the body.
Muller was the author of books including "Suicide Inc" - described on his website as a "romantic and erotic thriller".