PHICHIT – Rescue volunteers were stunned when a routine call to lift a submerged motorbike from a field pond turned into a grisly discovery. They found the body of a 33-year-old man, with his hands and feet tightly bound, dead in mysterious circumstances, in the middle of rice fields.
On Thursday, Pol Maj Gen Songpol Sangkasem, Provincial Police Commander of Phichit, and Pol Col Pongsak Wiriyakesem, Superintendent of Bang Mun Nak Police Station, told the Manager that a body had been found in unusual circumstances in a rice field in Village 3, Wang Samrong subdistrict, Bang Mun Nak district.
Investigators, forensic officers, a duty doctor, and rescue workers rushed to the scene. They found a pond in the middle of the fields, where locals had earlier spotted a motorbike submerged in the water.
Rescue workers went into the pond and first located the body of a man under the water. He was later identified as Mr Anuphan Songcharoen, aged 33, a resident of house number 57, Village 3, Wang Samrong subdistrict. His body was brought up and laid on the bank.
Officers inspected the body and found the man wearing a black crew-neck T‑shirt and jeans. Thick adhesive tape was wrapped separately around both wrists and both ankles. His feet had been pulled up so they crossed over his arms above the wrists, giving the appearance that his hands and feet had been tied together.
There were no clear signs of assault or visible wounds on the body. Officers believe he had died earlier the same day, as the body was still in a fresh condition.
Near the spot where the body was found, officers also discovered a motorbike under the water. They believe it belonged to the deceased, so they pulled it from the pond and moved it onto dry land.
From questioning residents, police learned that villagers had first noticed the motorbike submerged in the middle of the pond. Unsure who it belonged to, they contacted the Poh Teck Tung Foundation rescue unit in Bang Mun Nak, Phichit, and asked them to retrieve it.
While rescue volunteers were diving to hook the motorbike, they were shocked to find the man’s body nearby. He was under the water, with his wrists and ankles taped and positioned in the strange bound posture described above.
Police then contacted the Phichit forensic team to carry out a detailed examination of the scene and collect evidence. The body was first sent to Bang Mun Nak Hospital, then transferred to Naresuan University Hospital in Phitsanulok for a full post-mortem.
Doctors will determine the exact cause of death and whether the man was murdered or died by other means. Police are now gathering witness statements, checking CCTV in nearby areas, and tracing the victim’s movements before his death to piece together what happened in this mysterious case.
