NAKHON SAWAN: A member of the Takhli Municipal Council was found dead in a barrel of water at Wat Hua Khao on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Duty officer Pol Lt Thirayut Phusaeng said police were called to the temple about 8pm. They were accompanied by a doctor from Nakhon Sawan Hospital, forensic specialists and rescuers from a local charity foundation.
After climbing the stairway to the top of a hill called Khao Noi, they were directed to three 200-litre barrels filled with water, standing beside a temple building undergoing renovation.
In the first barrel they found the body of a man, with his head down in the water to the bottom and feet sticking out. A pair of sandals were about 10 metres away.
They removed the body from the barrel for examination. There were no obvious physical injuries. The dead man's wallet was still with the body, along with a mobile phone. His ID card named him as Dusit Larppanichayakul, 55, a member of the Takhli Municipal Council.
Amnuaychai Kirakamolchai, secretary to the Takhli district mayor, told police that late on Tuesday afternoon he received a phone call from Dusit's wife, who inquired of her husband's whereabouts. She said Dusit went to Wat Hua Khao in the afternoon and had not returned home.
Mr Amnuaychai said he went to the temple and found Dusit's motorcycle. He went up the hill and found a body in a barrel. He informed the police.
An elderly man, who identified himself as a painter hired by Dusit for the renovations, told the police that Dusit came up the hill about 2pm and livestreamed the repair work on Facebook. He had left after a brief chat with Dusit, and only later learned that the councillor was dead.
The police and doctor said it appeared Dusit died from drowning.
The body was sent to the Nakhon Sawan Hospital for an autopsy.
Dusit was well-known in Takhli district. He played a key role in drumming up local support for the renovation of the dilapidated building at Wat Hua Khao.
Police were investigating the circumstances of his death.