Highly suspicious activity.

[Seastallion]

About a week ago, at around 11pm, I went out on the balcony to have my nightcap ciggie. A crowd of neighbours had gathered on the soi; something was up. Usually my dead-end soi is all locked up and in bed by 9.

Convoluted story short (and yes, it's still convoluted); a motorbike with sidecar had been parked haphazardly at the end of the soi where there is a construction site on one side. (I had seen this bike about 40 minutes previously and thought it was a visitor to the sole Burmese family living on the site). One of the neighbours had roused everyone up saying there was a strange man skulking around.

The Burma guy was there with a torch.

Wifey and I went downstairs to out to find out what was happening. Now, at the end of the soi is low vacant land. Often boggy. Long grass and pak boong, taro and weeds. About 8 rai.

After about 10 minutes of people milling around, a guy comes out of the darkness of the vacant (famously snake-infested) block, with wet legs and no pants or shoes.

Burma guy recognises him as a worker from the site and tells everyone it's all ok.

First explanation from Burma2 is that he had been chased by someone who wanted to kill him and he had gone to hide. This was politely but dubiously accepted (but not really) by everyone.

Burma1 takes him inside and gives him a sarong. They have a discussion for 10 minutes. They come out again. Burma2 now says ("confesses") he went onto the vacant land to steal some kratom leaves growing on the other side, and that he took his pants off to cross some water.

Nobody believed him of course, but everybody just accepted what he said (politely). And that is the end of the story. Burma2 eventually drove away, and a few days later we are told he has decided he wont work on this site again. Nobody has seen him since.

Everybody thinks he was trying to steal from our houses.

I don't buy that. Why would he go barefoot into a snake-infested block, spend maybe an hour there, and come back without his pants?

If he wanted to wade, he would still be in possession of his pants.

A few theories come to my mind, one of them very disturbing.

1. He was stashing stolen goods. But why did he lose his pants?

2. He had shat his pants and went to the water to wash himself, and discarded his pants. But why discard his footwear too? There's a toilet and hose on the site, actually you have to pass it to step down onto the vacant land, and it's quite private. Very private at that time of night.

3. Something more sinister...maybe blood stains on pants, maybe rape, maybe a body hidden.

It disturbs me.

Other theories?

Advice?

[Costas2008]

OP, Sherlock Holmes speaking here.

After studying the evidence provided in great length, I came down to the following conclusions.

1. The guy is not Burmese, but Chalerm himself in disguise. (Do you remember Chalerm?)

2. As he is still trying to catch Sutherp, nobody told him he's become a monk, he crept in the night, fighting with snakes, lions, tigers and others, to the site he thought Sutherp was hiding.

3. After a copious search and after finding nothing of his beloved Sutherp, got sooooooo disappointed (not the first time) so he sat down to have a drink.

Knowing how much he drinks and after finishing the whole bottle of Whiskey, he felt the urge for a pee.

4. He takes his trousers off, so no evidence of his inability to aim appear on them.

5. But then he hears voices.

Being afraid it was the army following him, dropped his trousers, dropped his shoes and rushed back so he is not prosecuted.

Elementary my dear Watson.

[ukrules]

Please come back with an update when they pull the body out in a week or two.

[ExPratt]

_{Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with a House Brick ?}

[chiang mai]

The OP needs to move closer to the centre of the town.

[krisb]

It's another 'where's Tony?' mystery.

[ATF]

I'm sure the Police will investigate the matter thoroughly.

[StreetCowboy]

There's no point speculating.

None at all, Allan.

(First noted with reference to video referees, but universally applicable)

[Seastallion]

There's no point speculating.

None at all, Allan.

(First noted with reference to video referees, but universally applicable)

On the one hand, there is indeed no point speculating.

On the other, I am genuinely disturbed and would not like to think I ignored something that ends up with a "perpetrator" getting away....come on, it is very odd.

No pants? Spent nearly an hour in that field? Gave really dumb excuses?

Wifey said go to the police, because she is as perplexed as me. I said, go to them with what? A guy came out of a vacant block with no pants, so organise a search party?

Then she said, if someone was missing, it would be in the news. Really? An illegal Mon missing would even be reported let alone make news? I doubt it. Even some Thais if their daughter didn't come home they wouldn't raise the alarm.

As for speculating....that is precisely why I posted here...to read other opinions. I have minutiae information that I couldn't verbalise...perhaps someone's theory fits.

Thanks Costa, but the evidence is such that I must discard your theory.

[StreetCowboy]

Maybe he was a rent boy chasing someone who defaulted on their rent.

Maybe he was a victim of the International Trouser Thief, but was embarrassed to admit it? When our Alan turned up in the office breikless, he alleged he had "forgotten" them.

The possibilities are endless, but speculation, like resistance, is futile. Truth is inevitably stranger than fiction - except in Costa's case

SC

[JOC]

Run Forrest run!!

Thailand is way to dangerous for you!!

[ATF]

When you say no pants do you mean no underpants? The plot thickens.

[StreetCowboy]

When you say no pants do you mean no underpants? The plot thickens.

He was maybe on a commando mission

[ClutchClark]

This is exactly the type of suspense drama that TV'ers excel at:

1) A "Minutia" of detail.

2) Trying to decipher the workings of the Asian mind.

3) Possible sexual component.

4) possible cover-up. (There has already been one proven cover-up in the story, hasn't there?)

5) You even managed to introduce the subject of the RTP, albeit only in thought.

Yes, this should have the ingredients for some of TV's best keyboard detectives.

[rhythmworx]

I think post #3 nailed it.

[WitawatWatawit]

This is exactly the type of suspense drama that TV'ers excel at:

1) A "Minutia" of detail.

2) Trying to decipher the workings of the Asian mind.

3) Possible sexual component.

4) possible cover-up. (There has already been one proven cover-up in the story, hasn't there?)

5) You even managed to introduce the subject of the RTP, albeit only in thought.

Yes, this should have the ingredients for some of TV's best keyboard detectives.

Well, don't just sit there man! There's work to be done ....

[StreetCowboy]

This is exactly the type of suspense drama that TV'ers excel at:

1) A "Minutia" of detail.

2) Trying to decipher the workings of the Asian mind.

3) Possible sexual component.

4) possible cover-up. (There has already been one proven cover-up in the story, hasn't there?)

5) You even managed to introduce the subject of the RTP, albeit only in thought.

Yes, this should have the ingredients for some of TV's best keyboard detectives.

Well, don't just sit there man! There's work to be done ....

Keep an eye out for someone wearing two trousers

[ClutchClark]

This is exactly the type of suspense drama that TV'ers excel at:

1) A "Minutia" of detail.

2) Trying to decipher the workings of the Asian mind.

3) Possible sexual component.

4) possible cover-up. (There has already been one proven cover-up in the story, hasn't there?)

5) You even managed to introduce the subject of the RTP, albeit only in thought.

Yes, this should have the ingredients for some of TV's best keyboard detectives.

Well, don't just sit there man! There's work to be done ....

Do we have any photos? It always helps if we are provided a very grainy photo that our TV techs can scrutinize (a science much like finding shapes in clouds).

And do we know if the suspicious character was actually wearing britches when he arrived to the Soi or is that merely an assumption at this point?

The OP was quite adroit in his mention of the haphazard method the motorbike w/sidecar was suspiciously parked at the end of the Soi. Perhaps he can elaborate on why this particular carelessly parked moto is any different from the 1,000's of others parked similarly daily...or is this simply a red herring?

I need to borrow MJP's pipe and contemplate the evidence thus far provided.

[mrtoad]

I'm sure the Police will investigate the matter thoroughly.

Surely a job for Chalermlock

[evadgib]

What was in your cigarette?

[Seastallion]

A couple of answers;

I think, but can't be certain, that he was naked from his T-shirt down. I caught a glimpse of his upper thigh but not his tackle when his shirt moved....it seemed that there was no underwear, or if there was, they were very brief.

Haphazard parking in this soi is very odd. Only 10 occupied houses, 11 all together. But I don't think that was what raised the alarm, but it did become the focal point of the gathering.

[impulse]

Pants off in the weeds? Back in Wyoming, we'd be looking for the poor sheep....

[rhythmworx]

Did he have pockets in his shirt?

Just wondering where he stored these kratom leaves he went to pick.

Why didn't they drive to the other side of the lake to pick them?

He had an accomplice who could drive.

The story is changing now from your point of view, are you sure it wasn't a farang high on Lao Kao that had watched way too many Bear Grylls programmes?

[enuff said]

.

I'll notify Fox News! The pants were prolly ebola encrusted.

enuff said

~

[Seastallion]

Did he have pockets in his shirt?

Just wondering where he stored these kratom leaves he went to pick.

Why didn't they drive to the other side of the lake to pick them?

He had an accomplice who could drive.

The story is changing now from your point of view, are you sure it wasn't a farang high on Lao Kao that had watched way too many Bear Grylls programmes?

The story is not changing. There is no lake. I saw no accomplice and mentioned none.

No pockets, and no kratom....that's why his second excuse was dumb. And if he took his pants off to cross the "water", why did he not pick them up when he came back? This is why I am lead to think he hid his pants. Why?

It's the lack of pants that is the crux of it in my mind. There are other unanswered questions but this one tends to make me lean towards something sinister. Call me paranoid.

Who wants to walk barefoot through snake infested long grass late at night? What would motivate someone to do that? Or maybe that's not such a big deal and I'm assigning my own fears onto everybody else.....although I know the neighbours are always saying "Mai bai! Ngoo yert."

Edit; "Burma1" is the guy that lives on the construction site. He's a tiler and lives in one of the rooms with his wife and young daughter. It's a 5 storey apartment block.

[rhythmworx]

Did he have pockets in his shirt?

Just wondering where he stored these kratom leaves he went to pick.

Why didn't they drive to the other side of the lake to pick them?

He had an accomplice who could drive.

The story is changing now from your point of view, are you sure it wasn't a farang high on Lao Kao that had watched way too many Bear Grylls programmes?

Who wants to walk barefoot through snake infested long grass late at night? What would motivate someone to do that?

Somebody who realises if he doesn't take that walk will die in a hot sweaty prison cell.

Give me the choice of walk through there or go to a Thai prison I would take the walk.

By my reference to accomplice, the person you refer to Burma2 is an accomplice IF any illegal activities were undertaken, his vehicle was spotted there by you 45 mins earlier while Burma1 may have dragged the body into the swamp Burma2 may have to 7/11 to get some smokes and a hot dog.

It's easy to lose pants and footwear in a swamp, it has happened to me before gladly not in Thailand though.

As you said if he took them off why didn't he collect them on his way back.

The answer is simple he has some serious 5h17 to hide.

[malt25]

Yawn !!!!!

[sipi]

He shat in his pants, shoes and hat. We have all done that at sometime.

[daveAustin]

Who cares.

[neverdie]

I think he was playin nude twister, got startled and ran off without his pants, hiding in he ling grass a short distance away. He returned later, when all seemed settled and found that Costas had cut the pants up and was using them as drip rags whilst milking the critter. Startled for a second time that evening, the poor man shot off again, this time not stopping to look back.....and was spotted leaving the block and entering the soi.

Clearly you have badgers in your soi and clearly Costas is trying to cover the evidence up by posting above.