Australian tourist found dead in Thai hotel room was on phone when he died, police say

The Guardian

4 days ago

An Australian tourist has been found dead in a Thai hotel room, one day before his flight home.
The 21-year-old was discovered by housekeeping staff at a hotel on holiday island Phuket on Wednesday.
Police arrived at the scene after being notified by a shocked hotel cleaner at around 10am.
They found the holidaymaker, who was born in India and had an Australian passport, lying on the bed with his phone on his chest. He had bandaged injuries on an elbow and wrist from an earlier road accident.
Officers said there were no signs of assault or theft in the room.
Police lieutenant colonel Thanom Thongpaen, inquiry officer at Thalang district station, said: 'I saw him lying there with a mobile phone resting on his chest. He was still on a call with someone.
'The line hadn't been disconnected and he had died like that. There were no signs of struggle or anything suspicious.
'It appeared he had been on the call for about 12 hours. The phone screen had gone dark, but we could still see the call duration and confirm he was on a call.
'We don't know who he was talking to. I tried speaking into the phone, but there was no response. The line remained active, but there was no voice on the other end. The phone was locked, so we couldn't examine it further.'
There were no drugs or alcohol at the scene other than over-the-counter painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication, Thongpaen said – 'about ten pills in blister packs'.
'The day before, he had a motorcycle accident and injured his elbow and wrist. He had asked the hotel maid to buy medicine for him from a pharmacy. He likely took the medication before he passed away.'
Thongpaen said police 'could not determine a clear cause of death', with 'no signs of foul play in this case'.
According to officers, the man had been travelling alone, with security footage showing a friend dropping him off at the hotel in the early evening.
'One of the hotel staff had a phone number for his friend, who had helped him check in, so the hotel contacted that friend to inform them of his death,' Thongpaen said. 'His friends, who are also Australians living in the same neighbourhood, weren't travelling with him but happened to meet up in Phuket.'
The man's relatives had informed authorities that they did not want an autopsy and 'wished to bring his body home as soon as possible', Thongpaen said.
Police said the Australian Embassy in Bangkok had been informed of the death.
Guardian has contacted Dfat for comment.