'Cremated' man returns home to family's astonishment seven months later

Sakorn Sachiwa's family initially touched him to make sure he was not a ghost

Sakorn Sachiwa officially died in May from a digestive disease (Thai PBS)

A man who was mistakenly declared dead, has returned home to his family, seven months after they thought they had cremated him.

After finding a corpse in a rented room in Bangkok, police in Thailand, told Sakorn Sachiwa's family that he had passed away from a digestive disease.

But almost seven months on from that fateful May day, the 44-year-old walked into his home in the Non Khun district, more than 300 miles from the capital.

His stepbrother Charoen Lakdi, told the Bangkok Post said the family were "astounded".

As the family picked up his body, along with the death certificate dated 21 May, Mr Sachiwa's cousin, Nakornchai Pimklang, said he raised concerns with an official after noticing the corpse’s teeth appeared to be different to those belonging to his relative. Mr Sachiwa has two missing.

But he said they were told to take the body anyway.

The family held religious rituals for three days before cremating the body. The ashes were placed in a stupa – a Buddhist burial mound – near the family home.

When Mr Sachiwa returned, his cousins repeatedly touched him to ensure he was not a ghost, Mr Pimklang said.

Mr Sachiwa said he had been working on a fishing boat in the south of the country since January and his ID card had been stolen by a Burmese worker.

He now wants the official record changed.

The identity of the person who was cremated remains a mystery.