A PENSIONER was bitten to death by a crazed wild monkey in his home.
Chaiphum Sae-eung, 63, is thought to have tried to fight off the aggressive male macaque after it entered his property in Yala province, southern Thailand.
But the rogue primate, which had been terrorising residents the area, was said to have repeatedly scratched him before biting a chunk off his left leg.
Chaiphum staggered back as blood spurted from the wound and was unable to stand up again.
His body was found on Saturday slumped against the wall with dozens of bite marks
His nephew, Pipat Sae-eung, discovered the body surrounded by a pool of blood on the floor.
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He was still clutching a metal rod thought to have been used to fend off the macaque when police arrived.
The monkey was in the rafters, glaring at the officers.
Villagers said the monkey had been aggressively roaming the area while trailing a female, and had already bitten Chaiphum on the shoulder around ten days earlier.
Police Major Jakkarin Laksana said a shoot-to-kill order has now been issued.
He said: “We speculate that he had been dead for around two to three days because his body was bloated and emitting a foul stench.
“We sent his body to Betong Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
“We do not believe any people were involved in the death.
“The monkey will be killed if it is seen. The danger that it could attack more people is too high.”
Villagers said the deadly monkey had been aggressively roaming the area while trailing a female.
This was the second attack it launched against Chaiphum, after biting him on the shoulder around ten days previously.
Just days before the fatal attack, it had also forced a family from their home after it went for them.
Thailand and other Asian nations are grappling with a macaque overpopulation,
The monkeys are also growing bolder – raiding towns and clashing with residents.
A terrifying video from last month captured an army of over 100 macaques hurling themselves down a mountain in front of shocked tourists.
Helpless tourists can be seen hunkered down beneath a shelter as they watch the monkey mob go ape.
The macaque madness was caught on camera at Qianlingshan Park in China on November 24.
A tourist who filmed the scene said he had been riding the cable car up the mountain when he saw monkeys “everywhere”.
He said he believed there were nearly one hundred of them visible at once.