Thai lawyer Thaweewat Sengkaew turned up at a police station to claim ownership of the 12 million baht in cash (around €322,100 or £272,300).

Mr Sengkaew, an adviser to Thailand’s broadcasting regulator, claimed that he had accidentally discarded a plastic box, having forgotten that it contained his life savings, Thaiger reports.

The money was handed to police by a local woman who liked the look of the apparently high-quality box and wanted to repurpose it.

Police have not yet agreed to hand the cash to Mr Sengkaew, saying they had not yet established his claim to ownership.

A group of opposition MPs have also called on Thailand’s tax enforcement agency to confirm how he earned the cash, the Bangkok Post reports.