Man Dies After Electric Shock While Stealing Wires
A 39-year-old Mon migrant died from an apparent electric shock while stealing wires near a fish pond in Ratchaburi Province; his body was discovered in a banana grove five days after going missing.
At 10:45 a.m. on September 25, Deputy Superintendent Ratnanin Kasomsit of Photharam Police Station received a report of a male body found dead in a banana grove beside a fish pond along Chon Buri Canal Road, Moo 9, Ban Don, Khlong Takhot Subdistrict, Photharam District, Ratchaburi Province. He coordinated with investigators, doctors from Photharam Hospital, and staff from Sawang Ratchaburi Foundation to inspect the scene.
Heavy rain was falling at the location, and the entrance was muddy. Officers detected smoke around the body and feared a possible electrical current leak, so they evacuated non-essential personnel and contacted the landowner to cut power for safety. The deceased, identified as Maung Naing, 39, a Mon national from Sangkhla Buri, wore a red and blue checkered shirt with black long pants partially removed at the ankles. A dark gray cap was found near his head. His left hand gripped a yellow-handled wire cutter with electrical wire still attached. Part of his left calf was missing, exposing bone, likely from animal scavenging. He had been dead for at least five days.
Investigators found that about five days earlier, a motorcycle with a Ratchaburi license plate had been abandoned near the scene, roughly 200 meters away, with a key in the ignition, a hammer, and a fertilizer sack containing electrical wire scraps. When family members viewed the motorcycle, they confirmed it belonged to the deceased and filed a missing person report at Photharam Police Station. This morning, the son-in-law asked police to coordinate with Sawang Ratchaburi rescue workers to search the area where the motorcycle was found. During the search effort, someone discovered the body in the banana grove.
Initial evidence suggests the victim may have entered the area to steal electrical wiring before being struck fatally by an electrical current. However, the body has been sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police Hospital for autopsy to determine the precise cause of death.
