
Third Aussie dies in Thailand in a WEEK - as 21-year-old becomes the latest in a spate of mysterious deaths
Shocked housekeeping staff found the lifeless body of Ahmad Akouch, 21, in his room at The Rubber Hotel on the holiday island of Phuket on Wednesday morning.
The western Sydney man was found sprawled out on the bed wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and socks, with his phone on his chest, surrounded by bottles of water.
His left elbow and wrist were bandaged due to injuries reportedly sustained in a recent motorbike accident, his friends told authorities.
There were no signs of forced entry or struggle, and no visible injuries that suggested foul play, according to police.
Mr Akouch checked into the hotel on Sunday and was due to fly home on Thursday, according to local media reports.
His Australian passport stated that he was born in Bhanin, Lebanon.
Mr Akouch's body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a post-mortem.
His cause of death is yet to be determined and investigations are ongoing.
The Australian Consulate in Phuket has been notified.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted DFAT for comment.
The Rubber Hotel is a four-star hotel, described as an ideal lodging place in the heart of the Thalang district.
Rooms at the hotel start from $A41 per night.
Mr Akouch is the third Australian man to die in Thailand in the last week.
Kevin Steven Correll, 69, died in a Patong hotel room in Phuket last Friday.
He was long regarded as the prime suspect in the cold case murder of car saleswoman Rachelle Childs, 23, whose naked and partially burned body was found dumped in bushland near Gerroa on the NSW South Coast in June 2001.
Local police have described Correll's death as 'a mystery'.
Michael Shane Caola, 54, from Perth, was found face down in a pool of blood in a room on the seventh floor of the Grand Shivalay unit complex in the beachside city of Pattaya last Thursday.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Woman sexually assaulted near Devon church
A woman has been sexually assaulted near a church, Devon and Cornwall Police has are investigating after the serious attack by a man at about 01:00 BST on Saturday, close to a Methodist church on the A388 in Liftondown, near Launceston, who said the woman is being supported by specially trained staff, are appealing for dashcam footage from anyone who was driving in the area between midnight and 02: Insp Neil Lloyd said: "Incidents of this nature understandably cause great concern in the local community, and we urge anyone with any information to contact us."


Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Dan Sheehan handed four-match ban for dangerous clear-out on Tom Lynagh that went unpunished
Dan Sheehan, the British and Irish Lions hooker, has been banned for four matches after a dangerous clear-out on Australia fly-half Tom Lynagh that went unpunished by the officials during the third Test. According to a press release issued on Monday morning by World Rugby, Sheehan did not accept that foul play had occurred nor that the offence warranted a citing. This extended his eventual ban, though it will be reduced by a week if the 27-year-old completes World Rugby's coaching intervention programme, widely known as 'tackle school'. Sheehan, who appeared to hit Lynagh in the head with his elbow during the first half of the Lions' 22-12 loss on Saturday, was collared with charging into a ruck or a maul and a panel found his actions to be reckless. Tom Lynagh flattened by elbow to the head. #AUSvBIL — Jobson Growthe (@electricBAU) August 2, 2025 The committee also found that he made head contact with Lynagh, who subsequently left the field and did not return, and that Sheehan's actions 'amounted to a high degree of danger and that no mitigation applied'. There was minimal reaction to the clear-out from any players at the time, with Lynagh even staying on the field long enough to kick a penalty goal, which might have spared Sheehan from greater scrutiny. Michael Lynagh, the former Wallabies fly-half and father of Tom, has used his X account to repost several questions of how the officials missed Sheehan's actions at the time. One of them derided the situation as 'utterly insane'. Another, from Jack Quigley, said: 'So, just to be clear: This TMO will stop the game to check literally EVERYTHING except Dan Sheehan's hit that took Lynagh out. What are we doing here.' Had referee Nika Amushakeli been alerted to Sheehan's actions, it is highly likely that a card would have resulted. Even though 20-minute red cards were in play during the series, allowing teams to replace the offending player after that amount of time, the bunker official would have had scope to send off Sheehan permanently. Sheehan will now miss Leinster's pre-season game against Cardiff as well as their first two matches of the United Rugby Championship campaign against Stormers and Sharks. Provided that he completes World Rugby's coaching intervention programme, he will be available to face Munster on October 18.


Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Disturbing moment cop is filmed pushing over a woman from behind - as it is revealed what allegedly sparked the response
A uniformed police officer has been filmed pushing a woman in the back, who then appeared to hit her head on a metal bollard. The incident unfolded outside a school on Majara Street in Bungendore, 40km east of Canberra, about 2.50pm on July 22. Officers were called after a boy had allegedly threatened another boy and then thrown a rock through a woman's car window, smashing it. The woman got out of her damaged car before she was threatened and chased by a 15-year-old boy and a 32-year-old woman known to him, police allege. The boy was then arrested which prompted the 32-year-old woman to get aggressive towards officers, who warned her about her alleged behaviour at the time. As officers bundled the boy into a police car, the 32-year-old woman allegedly went back to the car owner and threatened her again. A senior constable then returned and intervened. Footage recorded at the the scene showed an officer approaching the woman as she argued before he pushed her. The officer then told her to get up and hauled her back from the roadside as she appeared to writhe in pain. The NSW Police Force told Daily Mail Australia it is aware of the footage. 'Police are reviewing footage circulating on social media about an incident involving a NSW Police officer on Majara Street, Bungendore, about 2.50pm, on Tuesday 22 July 2025,' a spokeswoman said. Police said a boy and a woman were taken to Queanbeyan Police Station and charged over the alleged incident. The boy was charged with stalk or intimidate intending fear of physical harm, contravening prohibition or restriction of an apprehended violence order (AVO), and destroy or damage property. He was granted conditional bail, to appear at a children's court on August, 11, 2025. The woman was charged with hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty, and two counts of stalk or intimidate intending fear of physical harm. She was also granted conditional bail to appear in Queanbeyan Local Court on August 11, 2025.