Duty investigator, Police Lt Col Sunong was alerted to the corpse's discovery by a villager at 7pm on Saturday (July 11) and reported to the scene in Ban Pakpli village of Moo 8 in the Tambon Thepkrasattri sub district, where his team of rescue workers was led to a large stink bean tree – in Thai "Dton Sator" (Parkia speciosa).
Police and rescue workers immediately noted the foul smell, before seeing the decomposing corpse of a man, lying face down, wearing long shorts and a black tee.
Judging from the presence of maggots feeding on the entire corpse, investigators believe that the victim had been dead for no less than four days.
Near the body, there was a pair of rubber boots, a traditional Thai red-patterned loin cloth (Pa Kao Ma) and a bundle of stink beans.
Though locals questioned at the scene were unable to identify the man, police believe that the victim was most likely Thai and had died after falling from the stink bean tree while trying to collect the bitter beans, a popular ingredient in Southern Thai cuisine.
Nonetheless, the body was collected and transported to Thalang Hospital for further examination to confirm the cause of death, while police await to see if any missing persons reports are filed.