Swiss Man Falls To His Death In Phuket

[webfact]

Swiss man falls to his death in Phuket

A Forensic Police officer dusts for fingerprints at the section of

the balcony from where the Swiss man is presumed to have fallen.

The view from the balcony. The Swiss man landed in the grass below.

PHUKET: -- A Swiss man fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his home on a Patong hillside this morning.

The man was living in a rented home on Phisit Gorani Rd, Soi 1 in Patong, not far from Suwankhiriwong Temple, at the time of his death.

The man’s live-in Thai girlfriend, a woman of about 30 years old who asked to be identified only as “Piyamas”, said the fall happened at about 9am today.

“We were having a chat as I was cooking in the kitchen, then he walked over to the balcony. Suddenly he went quiet, then I heard a scream. I ran out to the balcony and saw him lying on the ground below, then I rushed down to where he fell and cradled his head on my lap,” she said.

The plunge did not kill the Swiss immediately, she told the Gazette two hours after the fall.

“It took about twenty minutes before an ambulance came, even though Patong Hospital is nearby. He was still breathing until about 10 minutes before it arrived. It looked like he broke his arm. There wasn’t much blood on his face,” she said, still clearly upset from the tragedy.

The deceased, listed as a resident of Stafa municipality in Switzerland, once had an operation for a heart condition, she said.

Although there were no signs of foul play, Forensics Police dusted the ceramic tiles at the top of the balcony enclosure for fingerprints.

The distance of the drop was equivalent to about a four-story fall due to the way the home was constructed into the hillside. The deceased landed in a grassy area below.

“He liked to admire the view from the balcony. There is a small creek below. I always told him not to walk around alone on the balcony when I was doing the housework. It always looked unsafe to me. I always felt dizzy looking down from there,” she said.

The couple had been living together for about two months in the 20,000-baht-per-month house, she said.

The man’s body is being held in the Patong Hospital morgue.

The man was still legally married to a woman in Germany, with whom he had two children, she said.

Ms. Piyamas said she would inform the family of the tragedy.

The name of the deceased will be withheld pending notification of kin.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-09-07

[TAWP]

The GF will call the wife? I want to hear how that conversation goes.

Hope they figure out what happened.

[Jingthing]

Curious. How could you fall? Slip on a broken, wet tile? Have a medical event that makes you fall forward while you are standing a the very edge of the balcony? Being drunk? Definitely worth a closer look.

[laocowboy2]

Curious. How could you fall? Slip on a broken, wet tile? Have a medical event that makes you fall forward while you are standing a the very edge of the balcony? Being drunk? Definitely worth a closer look.

I note there was a mention of a heart condition. Even something less than a proper attack could leave the person faint and if he was already leaning on the balcony.....

[Jingthing]

Curious. How could you fall? Slip on a broken, wet tile? Have a medical event that makes you fall forward while you are standing a the very edge of the balcony? Being drunk? Definitely worth a closer look.

I note there was a mention of a heart condition. Even something less than a proper attack could leave the person faint and if he was already leaning on the balcony.....

Yeah, I agree. Could have easily been an accident. That rail is low. Especially if for some reason a person was looking down from there at something below. Still, ideally, events like this should be professionally investigated to rule out foul play. Probably asking for too much ...

Edited September 7, 2010 by Jingthing

[meelousee]

That rail is way too low, real easy to fall over it. Looks to be knee high?

[Jingthing]

That rail is way too low, real easy to fall over it. Looks to be knee high?

Actually it looks waist high, but that would depend of course on how tall you are.

[F1fanatic]

The GF will call the wife? I want to hear how that conversation goes.

Hope they figure out what happened.

I think we'd all love to be a 'fly on the wall' to that conversation!

Hopefully, his embassy will step in before it happens. Somehow I don't think his family would be happy to hear this awful news from his live-in g/f of 2 months......

[F1fanatic]

I doubt anything can be proven in these circumstances.

Presumably he was old and the article says he had heart problems in the past. Perhaps an autopsy could tell whether his heart failed before the fall?

[xylophone]

I doubt anything can be proven in these circumstances.

Presumably he was old and the article says he had heart problems in the past. Perhaps an autopsy could tell whether his heart failed before the fall?

The GF said she heard a scream........puzzling??

[Samuian]

Curious. How could you fall? Slip on a broken, wet tile? Have a medical event that makes you fall forward while you are standing a the very edge of the balcony? Being drunk? Definitely worth a closer look.

I note there was a mention of a heart condition. Even something less than a proper attack could leave the person faint and if he was already leaning on the balcony.....

Yeah, I agree. Could have easily been an accident. That rail is low. Especially if for some reason a person was looking down from there at something below. Still, ideally, events like this should be professionally investigated to rule out foul play. Probably asking for too much ...

which are most rails in Thailand.... and most of those "accidents" do occur because of this simple fact..

The picture tells it all, the guy dusting the tiles, the rail is reaching not higher them mid upper thigh, feeling drowsy or yes a mild attack, even leaning back a wee bit too much and off you go.

[ilyelol]

I wouldn't look over a balcony in Thailand even if it was 1meter high.. im always scared.. if you've ever seen the construction worker making them you'd know a goddamn mouse could knock that crap over..

[Jimi007]

Hum, what good are the forensics? The police can only afford one glove while dusting for finger prints?

May he: "Rest in Peace." At least he was trying to enjoy his life instead of being a miserable bag of wind like so many people in this world!