Man found dead hanging from a tree still unknown

The identity of the Korean-looking man, whose body was found hanging with a rope tied around his neck to a tree at sitio Kasambagan in barangay Pulangbato on Sunday, is still being verified.

Inspector Mario Monilar, homicide section chief, said his men have coordinated already with a Korean consul and Charlie Shin, general manager sa United Korean Community Association Inc. Cebu.

Upon seeing the picture of the dead man, the Korean consul told Monilar about his suspicion that the man could be a Korean. This prompted the consul to request from the police more information on the incident, including the results of the autopsy, the fingerprints of the man, and the man’s shoes and belongings to help trace the identity with Korean records.

Monilar also said the investigation will also look into other angles in case the cause of death is determined to be not suicide. For now, the bases of the police are the statements of residents near the scene who reportedly saw the man before the dead body was found.

The PNP Crime Laboratory, for its part, has already finished the autopsy on the body, said medico-legal officer of the police Dr. Benjamin Lara last Sunday.

Lara told The Freeman that the man died of “asphyxiation by hanging” explaining that the nylon rope tied around his neck block the passage of air from the trachea.

“Consistent naman sa asphyxiation by hanging ang ikinamatay noong tao, there were no tracheal fractures but it was congested as what is expected in cases like this. And ang ligature marks niya sa neck is consistent by hanging din,” said Lara adding that the man could have been dead between 36 and 48 hours before the autopsy was conducted.

Lara said, whether this is homicidal hanging or suicidal hanging, there were no injuries found in the trachea that is not common on hangings. Aside from that, there are no other injuries found in the body.

The still unidentified man is about 20 to 30 years old, tall and oriental-looking, and was wearing a white t-shirt and shorts when found. Rey Yunting, 22, was gathering firewood in the area when he found the body.

On Saturday, the police gathered some information about two boys who saw the man drinking liquor by himself on top of a dead tree near where his body was found.  — Edwin Ian Melecio/RAE