Thai man loses phone, gets it back, finds photos of man's decomposed remains inside

A man in Thailand managed to retrieve his lost phone, only to realise that something was amiss.

He scrolled through the smartphone and found several mysterious extra pictures that he had not taken: The grisly remains of an unknown man.

The skeletal corpse

The man shared on Facebook that he had dropped his phone early on Sep. 30, reported The Bangkok Post.

Luckily, he managed to get in touch with the person who had picked it up by calling his phone.

He arranged a meet-up the next day in the morning at a 7-Eleven convenience store.

But when he returned home, he checked his phone and was horrified to discover disturbing images of a skeletal corpse on a mattress and pillow.

His post quickly went viral and prompted calls for an investigation.

Police investigation

On Sep. 30, around 7:30pm, authorities began looking into the matter.

They managed to identify the corpse as La Kham-inbut, 55, through belongings that were found near the skeleton, reported the Thai Examiner.

It had apparently been there for at least three to four months.

His relatives told police that he had left Chiang Mai several years earlier to find work in Bangkok, but they had fallen out of contact more than a year ago.

The brother of the deceased also said that he had changed his phone number, which made communication even more difficult.

Man who found the phone

Investigative officers brought the man who found the phone in for questioning.

Sarayut Wongcharoen, 30, admitted to the police that he had found the phone on the ground whilst at a mall.

While waiting for the phone’s owner to call, he entered an abandoned building.

He was homeless and had stayed in the building before, but never came across anyone else, he said.

Intending to take a selfie, he climbed to the third floor of the abandoned building.

But he accidentally came across the corpse.

“I was shocked… I had never seen a body before. It made me lose my appetite, and the image stayed in my mind.”

The phone was locked, but he was still able to take pictures with it.

He returned to his grandparents’ home after giving back the phone, where police later arrived before bringing him in for questioning at the police station.

He also claimed that he did not report the discovery initially as he lacked a phone of his own, and needed time to process the scene.

Police response

Forensic experts from the Institute of Forensic Medicine said that the corpse had largely decomposed, leaving only skeletal remains with traces of clothing.

A black shoulder bag, a red wallet, and an ID card belonging to the deceased were also found near the corpse.

The body has been sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a more complete autopsy.

Police said they are continuing to gather evidence and interview witnesses while awaiting autopsy results to provide the family with answers.

Investigators are also working to establish the cause of death, which remains unknown.

Top images via kung.nattapon.kff/Facebook, Thairath