Severed human head found floating in Chao Phraya River

Police examine and wrap the human head found floating in the Chao Phraya River in Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan, on Wednesday evening.(Photo by Sutthiwit Chayutwoarkan)

SAMUT PRAKAN: Police are hoping to put a name to a severed human head found floating beside a pier in the Chao Phraya River in Phra Pradaeng district on Wednesday evening.

The unidentified head has long, receding hair but the facial features are bloated and the gender unrecognisable.

It was found floating in the river at Phra Pradaeng pier in tambon Bang Yaphraek about 6pm, Pol Capt Pongsakorn Saraschana, deputy investigation chief at Samrong Tai police station, said.

A fish landing net was used to lift the head up onto the pier.

There were signs of cuts from the left eye down to the neck and a wound about 2 inches deep in the middle of the forehead. It was believed to have been in the river for 3-4 days.

Local residents told police the face was not familiar to them. The head was sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for examination.

Subin Seesuddee, 31, from Bung Kan province first saw the head.

He and his friends were fishing from the pier on Wednesday evening when an unusual object floating in the river caught his attention.

Initially, he mistook it for a doll, but his friends argued it looked like a human head. He used his long-handled fisherman's landing net to lift it out of the water for a closer look, and was shocked to see his friends were right, it was a human head.

He quickly informed police at a nearby booth.

So far, police have not been able to confirm if the head is male or female. It was also unclear whether the head had been deliberately severed from the body and dumped in the river, or had been accidentally cut off by a cargo ship's propeller.

Phra Pradaeng investigators were checking with police stations in nearby areas whether any recent missing person reports had been filed, hoping to get a lead they could follow up.