Thai police have requested CCTV footage and will examine it carefully as well as performing an autopsy on the body of the UK man who died at the scene. One police source has said it appears to be suicide. It has been revealed that the sixty year old UK man suffered from a panic disorder for which he was receiving treatment at a local hospital.
A UK man was killed on Wednesday when he fell from the balcony of a condominium building on Jomtien beach in Pattaya. Thai police suspect it was a case of suicide and have revealed that the 60 year old man was suffering for a panic disorder for which he was being treated at a local hospital.
The UK national took his own life at a condominium building in the Jomtien Beach area of Pattaya on Wednesday night. The man was named as Brian Doblin and was reported to be 60 years of age. A Thai police officer at the scene who did not want to be named, told reporters that it was most likely a case of suicide. ‘We suspect it was a suicide. Murder is unlikely,’ he told reporters. The police did indicate that they would be requesting and studying CCTV footage from the building to finalise their investigation into the matter.
Rescue group run by humanitarian Buddhist faith group based Pattaya called to the scene
The incident occurred outside the entrance to the A2 condominium building in the area. A security guard at the building is believed to have requested the assistance of the Sawang Boriboon Foundation which is a humanitarian and Buddhist faith group that works in Pattaya. The group runs a rescue service. It is understood that the UK man fell from the balcony of his condominium building.
More suicides and deaths of elderly foreigners
Jomtien Beach is a seaside town about 3 km south of Pattaya. It is very popular with western foreigners and contains many apartments building, restaurants, bars and retail outlets to support the expat lifestyle. Unfortunately, there are more and more instances of older foreigners in Pattaya being found dead or committing suicide in the last decade as the numbers rise. A range of issues are involved ranging from health difficulties, tightening immigration requirements, a rising cost of living and of course love affairs with Thai women that go wrong.
UK man was being treated for a panic disorder
The security officer at the building raised the alarm after the incident happened. He was alerted to the emergency when he heard the sound of the UK man’s body hitting the ground just outside the entrance to the apartment building. The high quality A2 condo building overlooks the bay in Jomtien beach and is only 200 meters from the main beach road. Rescue services at the building say that the UK man suffered multiple fractures from the fall and even though they attempted to resuscitate the man, he was unresponsive. Thai police have, however, revealed that the man had been receiving treatment at a local hospital for a panic disorder. This is a condition where the sufferer at times become the subject of an intense feeling of fear even with physical symptoms which leads to a mindless panic.
The UK man’s body was removed to the police hospital where a full autopsy was planned as part of the police investigation into the incident.
If you are affected by this story please note the following numbers for the Samaritans in Thailand
– 02-713-6791 for English language speakers and 02-713-6793 for Thai language speakers.
