Australian man, 58, 'beaten to death by British friend, 29, in drunken row'
Published date: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 15:41:18 +0700
An Australian tourist was allegedly beaten to death by his British friend in Thailand.
John Max Neale, 58, had drinking beer with Brit Dan Gary Steven Harrison, 29, when they had a drunken row in front of their hotel in 'Sin City' Pattaya before dawn on September 27.
The pair sparked panic as they came to blows in the street as terrified locals watched. Harrison reportedly delivered a knockout punch that caused the Aussie to smash his head on the pavement.
Medics were called to the scene at around 4:30am, where they found Neale sprawled on the ground with no pulse. They performed CPR and rushed him to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital, but they said he could not be revived.
Police Major Tanongsak Inphadung of the Pattaya City Police Station confirmed Neale's death and identified Harrison as the suspect. He said the cause of death was still pending.
He said: ‘The suspect still denies the charges, but he cannot contest us because we have complete evidence. We have security camera footage from the restaurant and four witnesses who drank together with them. They were all Thais.
‘Tomorrow, we will request the court to detain him at Pattaya Remand Prison. He refused to say anything, even though we had an interpreter, and he will get a lawyer to defend the lawsuit.
‘The suspect was drunk at the time. We need to wait for the autopsy results to see if the deceased was also drunk, but he was seen drinking for hours before the incident. They were tenants on the same floor.'
The cause of their fight was not clarified by officials.
Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand to stem the flow of Communism from the east. In the ensuing years, the coastal resort spawned into a semi-barbarous sex-tourism destination.
Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects but a ravenous nightlife industry continues to dominate the area.
