Phuket City Police Chief Col Sompong Thiparpakul together with fellow officers were called to the scene 2pm.
Col Sompong declined to reveal who reported finding the body, as officers sealed off the area for the ensuing investigation.
The body was dressed in black shorts and a light blue shirt.
Due to the state of decomposition, officers were unable to identify any distinguishing features on the face, or even identify gender, Col Sompong said.
However, photos obtained by The Phuket News indicate that the body is of a relatively young man.
Col Sompong said that patrol police had found a motorbike parked beside the bypass road at 00.15am last Thursday (Nov 7).
Officers searched the area for the driver but found nothing, and took the motorbike to Phuket City Police Station to check for the registered owner, he said.
“We found that the owner is Mr Chanachai Kasirak, 26 years old. We contacted Mr Chanachai’s relatives, who were already looking for him. They had already reported him as missing to Thalang Police Station,” Col Sompong explained.
“We asked Mr Chanachai’s relatives to check whether this was his body, but they really can’t confirm yet,” he said.
Col Sompong said his officers were unable to determine any possible cause of death at this stage.
“Forensic Police will inspect the body and take DNA samples in the hope of identifying it,” he said.