MIRI, Malaysia - Puzzled residents of Kampung Pujut have been flocking to Sungai Miri for the past five days to gawk at the headless carcass of a crocodile floating in the river.

Nobody knows who chopped its head off and removed its genitals, but the belief is that it could have been done to make traditional medicine.

"For the past two days, the stench has been unbearable," said Ingkai Sulaiman yesterday.

He said many large crocodiles have been spotted on the banks, especially near the mouth of the river.

"I have seen at least 10 large crocodiles resting on the banks. Two were at least seven metres long."