Police in Pathum Thani have recovered human remains from the void above the suspended ceiling of a house in Lam Luk Ka district. They are believed to belong to a Cambodian worker who went missing two years ago.
The discovery was made after workers renovating the two-story house alerted police. Forensic officers were dispatched to inspect the house, located in a housing estate in Bueng Kham Phroi sub-district.
Above the false ceiling of a second-floor room undergoing renovation, officials found skeletal remains with clothing lying across the beams in the corner of the room.
Nearby were electrical wiring, metal wire cutters and a migrant worker identification card, belonging to a 29-year-old Cambodian national employed as a construction worker.
Renovation workers told police that the remains were discovered on their first day back at work after the New Year holidays.
They said that, prior to this, some workers had noticed a foul odour emanating from the ceiling on a daily basis, but assumed it was caused by a dead animal and did not investigate further.
Some of the remains fell from the ceiling when workers attempted to repair the damaged panels.
A nearby resident told police that the neighborhood is home to many Cambodian and Burmese migrant workers. He recalled that a Cambodian worker had gone missing in the area two years ago and, despite efforts by the worker’s family, no trace of him was found.
A Cambodian woman working nearby told police that she personally knew the deceased, identifying him as Keo, a Cambodian labourer who had disappeared two years earlier without explanation and leaving no personal belongings behind.
Police believe the worker climbed into the ceiling to cut electrical wiring and was electrocuted, resulting in his death.
The remains were transported by the Rom Sai Foundation to the Central Institute of Forensic Science for a full autopsy, to determine the exact cause of death.
