Police suspect suicide in death of Welsh backpacker on Phi Phi

PHUKET: A Welshman who was found dead on August 24 in his Phi Phi hotel room is thought to have committed suicide, Krabi City Police revealed to the Phuket Gazette today.

Jack Davies, 21, from Llanelli, Wales, was found hanging from an electrical chord in his hotel bathroom, police said.

“After investigating the scene, it appeared that he had used the chord of his phone charger to hang himself,” Capt Seksan Boonlerd of the Krabi City Police told the Gazette.

Mr Davies, also known to his friends as “Jay”, had allegedly been drinking with three British people at a local shop in front of the hotel that night, Capt Seksan explained.

“We questioned Mr Davies’ friends, who said that he had received a phone call from his parents. After the call, he became very upset. Apparently, his parents had recently separated and wanted Mr Davies to return home,” said Capt Seksan.

“When Mr Davies failed to return after 30 minutes, one of his friends went to look for him and found him hanging in the bathroom.

“This looks like a case of suicide, but we cannot officially confirm this until we have completed our investigations. On Monday, his body will be transferred from Krabi Hospital to Phuket and then flown back to the United Kingdom.”

According to the Llanelli Star, a Welsh regional newspaper, Mr Davies had been working on Phi Phi island and travelling in Southeast Asia for the past three years.

Police declined to reveal the name of the Phi Phi hotel where Mr Davies had been staying.

— Woranut Pechdee