THE BRUTAL murder of a man whose hand was cut off with no jagged edges, as if by a guillotine, has Phuket police puzzled as to the method and the motive.

The victim's identity also has yet to be established.

Most of the man was found soon after 9am in a rubber plantation on Koh Sireh, east of Phuket City, an area rapidly becoming another suburb as Phuket's urbanising capital expands.

The man, probably Burmese, was dressed in underpants and a t-shirt. He had been stabbed once, in the neck, Phuket City police were quickly able to determine.

There were signs, though, that he had also been savagely beaten. And there was the hand.

Or rather, there wasn't the hand. His right arm ended in nothing.

Beating around the rubber tree plantation and nearby jungle, officers found a Burmese sarong.

Then the hand.

Locals reported a disturbance at a house on Koh Sireh last night but detectives are just beginning their inquiries, so it may have no connection to the murder.

It's certainly possible that the man could have been punished - severely - for something he had done with his hand. A burglar caught in the act is one theory.

Police inquiries are continuing.