SURAT THANI — A 40-year-old Austrian man was found dead on a beach on Koh Samui on Saturday morning.
The body was found lying face-up on a mattress on the beach in front of a hotel in tambon Bophut on the resort island, said Pol Capt Daenchai Buntham, a deputy investigation chief at the Bophut police station. The death was reported around 7am on Saturday.
The man was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and there were no traces of a struggle. His valuables, including 6,700 baht in cash, a credit card, a watch and two rings, were untouched, Thai media reported.
Police believed he had been dead for 3-4 hours before his body was discovered. The man's name has been withheld pending notification of his family.
An opened soft-drink can, a bottle of drinking water and a pack of cigarettes were found on a side table near his body.
A security guard at the hotel told police that the tourist was not a hotel guest. He saw the man walking to the beach, carrying the soft drink, at about 4am on Saturday. It was raining at the time and the guard said he did not check further.
Before he finished his morning shift, the guard made his rounds of the area and found the tourist lying dead on the beach. He immediately alerted police.
Officers are examining closed-circuit television camera images to find possible clues into the death. The body was sent to Samui Hospital for a post-mortem examination.