The body of a man burned “to charcoal” was found near his motorcycle at a rubber plantation in Snuol district’s Sre Cha commune in Kratie province on Wednesday, with police treating the case as murder.

Uch Sophanna, Sre Cha commune police chief, said rubber plantation workers came across the gruesome scene at around 11am on Wednesday.

Police concluded that the body was burned around two hours before it was discovered.

“The body was burned to charcoal near his motorbike, so this is being treated as a murder case,” Sophanna said.

Chan Sok Kim, Snuol district police chief, identified the victim as Khom Sith, 23, from Sre Cha commune.

“Police are on the lookout for the killer. The victim’s family and local police have alleged that he was an active drug user.

“We cannot assume the man’s death was due to drug use because we have not determined what the actual cause was. We are working hard to solve this case,” Sok Kim told The Post on Thursday.

Sophanna said the victim’s grandmother told police that his parents had divorced around four or five years ago. Sith was their only son.

His mother moved to live in Phnom Penh, while his father remarried in Battambang province.

Sith had been raised by his grandmother since he was five years old, Sophanna said.

The victim did not attend school while living with his grandmother. According to police, he was known in his village as a drug addict.

After being alerted, police inspected the scene, finding the body placed on wooden logs and so badly burned it was unrecognisable. The motorbike had also been set alight.

The victim was identified by his family through his motorbike.

The body was burned around 100m off the rubber plantation’s road, which was regularly used by workers, Sophanna said.