American Tourist Dies After Falling Off a Hotel Balcony in Pattaya

[snoop1130]

 

A US tourist was discovered dead on Tuesday morning after a fall from the seventh floor of a hotel in Pattaya. The Pattaya police received a call about the incident around 6:06 AM on June 4th. They, along with rescue workers, rushed to the unnamed hotel situated on Soi Thappraya 15. There they found the body of the deceased, a 43-year-old American named Michael Jeffery Bruggink.

 

Bruggink was found without a shirt and showed no evidence of violence on his body or signs of forced entry in his hotel room. However, police found cannabis and numerous syringes in the room, now locked for further forensic study.

 

The hotel's security guard, 34-year-old Supornchai Hadkham, reported that he didn't see the fall and doesn't know how or when it happened. He found Bruggink during his patrol and called the authorities when he found the tourist unresponsive.

 

The reason behind this incident is unclear. The police are looking at possible scenarios such as an accidental fall or suicide. A forensic examination will be done to establish the exact cause. The incident will also be reported to the US embassy.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-06-04

 

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[chickenslegs]

4 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

well its been awhile since we have had one of these as they were the hot topic for awhile before drunken thai men started killing friends over 20 bt.....

 

by the look of that also seems he just missed the pool,,,but of course that could have been a drowning..

File photo for reference only

[steven100]

very suspicious,  43yrs old is not old,  they found drugs in his room but drugs don't make you jump from your balcony. 

They need to look at CCTV and verify who went into the room last and what time they came out.  

 

 

RIP poor guy.

 

[scubascuba3]

2 in one day with the Russian

[SAFETY FIRST]

Yes, a Russian fell off his balcony last night. 

Theprasitt road condo apparently. 

 

[Deserted]

He died high by the sounds of it. What a way to go . 

[save the frogs]

balcony seems too high for accidental fall?

or is that an AI generated image?

[Jingthing]

The biggest suspicion I have is that it was on the 7th floor. That's a lower floor than most suicides would choose.

[Pique Dard]

14 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

...by the look of that also seems he just missed the pool

...missed the pool from....the 7th floor! during his lifetime, he must have been a great diving champion, i guess

[ezzra]

Pattaya is of those unique places where all sorts from all over the world come to visit owing to it's reputations as 

a place where you can get everything at a price, a Mecha for all those who are are looking for drugs and vice

and as such no wonder that some are paying the price for such indugments...

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, steven100 said:

very suspicious,  43yrs old is not old,  they found drugs in his room but drugs don't make you jump from your balcony. 

They need to look at CCTV and verify who went into the room last and what time they came out.  

 

 

RIP poor guy.

 

Well they found cannabis....... 

[gargamon]

8 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Well they found cannabis....... 

And syringes... I haven't yet figured out how to inject cannabis. Please enlighten us on the technique.

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, gargamon said:

And syringes... I haven't yet figured out how to inject cannabis. Please enlighten us on the technique.

What makes you think I know? Syringes may be the sign of a diabetic, as no other drugs stated as found. 

[Georgealbert]

18 minutes ago, gargamon said:

And syringes... I haven't yet figured out how to inject cannabis. Please enlighten us on the technique.

This is a picture of what was found at the scene, inside the room.

 

 

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, steven100 said:

very suspicious,  43yrs old is not old,  they found drugs in his room but drugs don't make you jump from your balcony. 

They need to look at CCTV and verify who went into the room last and what time they came out.  

 

 

RIP poor guy.

 

43 years old is old enough to have a screwed up life... drugs might not make you jump, but can make you unstable...

balconies are not the place to be in that condition.

[Georgealbert]

Thai media shows that the balcony was at the rear of the building, with the body being found on a small walkway between the building and boundary wall, next to the car park.

 

[MalcolmB]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Bruggink was found without a shirt and showed no evidence of violence on his body

He must have had a soft landing.

[RichardColeman]

In defence of Thai construction - which I am very critical of - that balcony looks quite secure. Guy must have been out of his mind and re-enacting a scene from the titanic in my opinion

[steven100]

17 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

In defence of Thai construction - which I am very critical of - that balcony looks quite secure. Guy must have been out of his mind and re-enacting a scene from the titanic in my opinion

 

yes ....  this is one possibility,  was he horsing around and leant over the railing as far as he could and his feet lost their grip.  

[gargamon]

24 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

In defence of Thai construction - which I am very critical of - that balcony looks quite secure. Guy must have been out of his mind and re-enacting a scene from the titanic in my opinion

You obviously missed the “file photo. For reference only“ notation at the end of the OP. Clearly it isn't the balcony in question.

[WDSmart]

Unbelievable! I just don't understand why so many Farangs (and some Thais) die in Pattaya from falling off a balcony! The obvious suspicion is they were pushed off, but there seems to be one reported on AseanNow at least once a week! And I suspect there could be more than that not reported here. What's happening in Pattaya? 

[Thingamabob]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The biggest suspicion I have is that it was on the 7th floor. That's a lower floor than most suicides would choose.

Less time to think on the way down..

[0ffshore360]

15 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

Unbelievable! I just don't understand why so many Farangs (and some Thais) die in Pattaya from falling off a balcony! The obvious suspicion is they were pushed off, but there seems to be one reported on AseanNow at least once a week! And I suspect there could be more than that not reported here. What's happening in Pattaya? 

Obvious  suspicion? "Pusher" of a different kind for hire?

Or just stoned and shot up some juice that lead him to dizzily lean too far over his balcony railing and fell?

Given physical evidence as shown makes being pushed less than obvious surely?

 

[Bangkok Barry]

18 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

File photo for reference only

 

And therefore completely pointless. Again. And again.

[Hakuna Matata]

OMG, again?

 

What a nasty place Pattaya is. Should be avoided by all means.

[Hakuna Matata]

2 hours ago, WDSmart said:

The obvious suspicion is they were pushed off

 

Of course, many of them were pushed off. This not an accident, this may be a murder probably. What do you think?

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Less time to think on the way down..

Yeah but greater chance of not dying instantly. If it was the 2nd floor would people be thinking suicide?

[Cereal]

A problem is the height of balcony rails. In Canada, standard height is 107cm and in Thailand it is between 90 - 100 cm. As we male falangs tend to be much taller than the average Thai (Canadians avg. 178cm and Thai 168cm) it's very easy to imagine accidental falls happening.

So, the difference could be 27cm or more. That is a huge amount. Falling over that height is like tripping over a curb. It happens. I always approach a railing on a Thai balcony with care. 

 

Booze doesn't help of course, nor do drugs. 

[bamnutsak]

The deceased's Instagram page...based on the Wesleyan connection.

 

https://www.instagram.com/mike1.61803/

 

It looks like he was well-traveled.

 

That looks like a large block of hash (guess it could be heroin) to purchase if you're going to end it all?

 

 

[Stargeezr]

No one is forced to become an alcoholic or drug addict. This guy chose his life style and now is dead.

  End of story. IMO