Australian man dies of suspected drug overdose in Pattaya hotel

An Australian man died today of an alleged drug overdose in a Pattaya hotel, according to a heavily intoxicated friend.

Officers from the Mueang Pattaya Police Station and rescuers from the Sawang Boriboon Pattaya Foundation were called today, October 30, to investigate the death at a hotel on Pattaya Sai Sam Road in the Bang Lamung district. The dead Australian man has been identified as 27 year old Jayson Peter Tonkin.

Tonkin was found lying on the floor, wearing black shorts and a waist bag, but was shirtless. Police did not detect any signs of struggle or theft but found ketamine and cannabis in the room.

Tonkin’s friend was present at the scene and was reportedly drunk when speaking with the police. Rescuers provided first aid to the deceased’s friend and rushed him to a hospital for a health check.

Hotel workers reported to the police that they heard a noise coming from the foreigners’ room and went to investigate. They encountered the dead man’s friend standing outside the room, shaking. He asked the workers to check on his friend, who had suddenly stopped breathing.

The hotel staff did not feel safe investigating the room themselves, so they called officers from the Mueang Pattaya Police Station to the scene.

Following the discovery of the drugs and his friend’s intoxication, police suspected that Tonkin died from a drug overdose. However, officers have not yet concluded the case and were waiting for the deceased’s friend to be sober enough to attend questioning.

Multiple fatal drug overdoses have been reported in Thai news outlets, particularly among ketamine users. In a related report from September, a 16 year old Thai woman used ketamine while providing a sex service to a 62 year old man at his home in Samut Prakan province.

The man initially claimed that the girl had come to work for his online shop but later revealed the truth: He had hired her for sex. However, the man insisted that he did not force her to use drugs, stating she used them of her own accord.

Another victim of ketamine was a 13 year old Thai boy in Bangkok. His death was shrouded in mystery when reported by various news outlets in July. His friends later came forward to confess that they had provided ketamine injections to the deceased, leading to his overdose and death.