Charred corpse of 'electric wire thief' found in ceiling of Bangkok monorail walkway

Charred human remains were found in the ceiling of a monorail walkway in Bangkok, Thailand.

The male corpse was discovered while technicians from the Chong Nonsi BTS Station were inspecting an electric malfunction along the walkway near the Chong Nonsi Bridge on September 5.

They crawled into the ceiling of the skybridge to examine the cause of the fault - only to find the desiccated corpse of a man in the cramped space.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Chaisit Khamphaichan of the Thung Maha Mek Police Station said police were notified at 4pm local time.

He said: 'The body will be taken to the forensic department of the Chulalongkorn Hospital. We will try to determine his identity and the cause of his death.'

The deceased was wearing a red safety helmet fitted with a flashlight, a short-sleeved T-shirt, bloodstained shorts, and sneakers. Near the body was a bag containing several tools, including pliers and wrenches.

No identification documents were found.

Police said the individual had been holding onto a pair of pliers still clamped to a cable. They suspect he was an electric wire thief whose plan to steal cables went awry when he was electrocuted.

The man is believed to have been dead for around five months.

Locals reported smelling a foul odour along the walkway but no complaints or reports had been filed with police.

In May, a street sweeper found the body of another suspected cable thief in Bangkok.

Panadda Ngokngam was cleaning along the Rong Klao intersection when she detected a horrible smell coming from an old electric utility box in the Min Buri district. She said she opened up the control panel, but found the body of a man lying in a hole at its base.

The hole was reported to have contained electric wires and equipment. Liquor bottles were found on the street near the hole.

Police said it was unclear how the man died.