A STILL unidentified man was found dead Tuesday in a grassy and secluded area along Corrales Avenue corner Claro M. Recto streets this city.

Police authorities said it is yet unclear whether the man, found kneeling and hanging with his neck tied to a kamatsile tree and smeared with used motor oil, committed suicide or was murdered, although the grisly circumstances surrounding the man’s death indicate foul play.

Reyes clarified, however, that elements of the police’s Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) have yet to complete their investigation.

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Police Inspector Buenaventura Reyes, Station Commander of Cogon Police Station, said the man is difficult to identify. It is believed that the man, found by police at noon Tuesday, may have been dead for at least two days.

The body of the still unidentified man is already in an advanced state of decomposition, police said.

Reyes said police received reports of a dead body in the area Tuesday from a construction worker.

“Pero petsa 1 sa hapon pa daw niya nakita ang patay pero wala lang niya gi-report sa polis,” Reyes said.

Reyes said a group claiming to have a missing relative was on hand when policemen retrieved the body. But the group refrained from identifying the body in the site saying they prefer to look at the body at the funeral home.

The unidentified body was brought to the Bollozos Funeral Homes which in turn brought the cadaver to the Bolonsiri Cemetery for burial. (Annabelle L. Ricalde)