Dead foreigner found floating off Phi Phi Islands

PHUKET: -- Police on Koh Phi Phi are trying to identify the remains of a foreign man whose body was found floating about 3 nautical miles off the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi.

The body was recovered by workers from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s Tourist Rescue Center, which operates out of Chalong Pier in Phuket.

The exact time of the body's recovery was not given in the police report, made at 10am today.

The man was found wearing only green trousers. His left arm bore a tattoo with the words “mother heart”.

Koh Phi Phi subdistrict police are now questioning people on the island and checking missing persons reports from Krabi and surrounding provinces, including Phuket, to try to identify the man.


-- Phuket Gazette 2009-05-02

midnight swim gone wrong?

It is well known that foreigners are much more likely to die here than in more developed destinations. Motorcycle accidents are common.

If he is British (likely that or American) all they have to do is stick "left arm tattoo mother heart” in the police computer and bingo... that will narrow it down to only a few. Could be done in less than 5 minutes.

Not necessarily related to this...but...

I had a scare of my life visiting Phuket and taking one of those cruises last January. It went along well until we stopped at one Island and we were told that everyone can choose whether to swim ashore or take a canoe. I chose to swim since the beach was about 50-100 meters away. I consider myself quite a good swimmer and am not unfamiliar with long distances.

However, this time while stretching my swim muscles, I noticed that I was not approaching the beach. Quite the opposite. I realised that I was in a very strong sea current floating away from the ship and others. I tried first to wave my hand to the staff that was canooing near me. They noticed me and TURNED THEIR HEADS AWAY! Nice! I tried shouting, no reply. Luckily a lonely Englishman noticed me and came to my rescue. Slightly embarrasing, of course, but beats left floating away.

This is just one example of how security and safety issues are not taken care of in the lovely land of Smile. I haven't got a clue if this was what caused the poor chap to meet the end of his days but I just wonder if anyone had noticed anything in my case. In time, that is.

And just guess who is not taking another cruise ever?

Nobody mentions that a large proportion of dead farangs in LOS is because many are oldish people and are on medication,coupled with alcohol and viagra,not a good recipe for good health.

Mother Heart? I guess there's not too many with a similar tattoo. Have you ever been in Pai? The hospital's fridge is always filled up with overdosed farlangs. One dead farlang with green trousers. No tie? What's wrong with that story?

I'm with the family of mother heart.

I wonder what the "official report" would indicate as to cause of death.

This post has been edited by Longduckdong: 2009-05-02 18:40:29

OMNI4ME; your experience, - and it's correlation to this sad news, is by far the most sensible response to this story. Your experience should be printed on a pamphlet and handed to all those people contemplating taking part in such 'fun boating activities'.
I, for one, thank you for sharing this horrible experience with us, because this CAN help save life and lots of misfortune.

Cheers,

JGK/Pattaya

....so the question is: "Is there life after Thailand?" I guess not.

Now any news on who the guy in the green pants is?

Why is he now suddenly a Brit? Did anyone ask him? Or maybe OberK~ and Boycie are on the inside .... good one guys. Post Mortem time - student practice.

A number of very insensitive posts have been removed. Have some respect .....

I have just deleted another one.

right now we have no idea how this person died, but scores of people (mostly thai but at least a few foreigners) drown every year in thailand. it is sad but inevitable considering how many people go to the islands and beaches. folks routinely ignore red flags and do not swim signs or don't realize how dangerous the currents can be. many times i've been on krabi or phuket and witnessed some drunken dude going for a late night swim (again, not saying that's how this guy died).

at least in the past couple of years i've noticed people here being much more conscious of this, national parks guys are very sensitive to water safety, i've been yelled at for being on a kayak without a life jacket and even had the rangers throw me one of their own, but with probably millions of people in the water i guess it's hard to avoid.

SPIKECM, what makes you think the police of the home country would have this fellas tattoo on file, only if he has a criminal record and then maybe if the tattoo where considered a gang tattoo.

Why more deaths in Thailand of folks from the UK, now this is pure speculation on my part, but maybe because more of these visitors are single and they engage in risker behavior than the people who go to Spain or America.

I was wondering the same thing, what automatically makes this guy a Brit? Lots of Canadians, Swedes, Germans, etc etc come here too.

May he rest in peace.

Wow, what an amazing load of drivel.

People die! Ok, so therefore we shouldn't worry.

Great, thanks.


Thailand is at times a very dangerous place. It's amusing to watch the usual minimisers and apologists troll out their garbage. Ask the 66 people who died in Santika just how safe Thailand is....

Laws here are circumvented or ignored. Safety regulations are seemingly only for those who want to lose profit.

Lest we forget....

RIP this guy. A tragic loss. I wonder if he'd been reported missing by anyone.

Apologies, I am sorry if my posts were suggesting that i think the deceased is British.

I was replying to other posts and only had info on British nationals in Thailand.

May he RIP. Thoughts go out to his family.

don't be a wally! are you saying all people with tattoos have a police record? maybe the ones with half a brain like yourself should be on it!

Insensitive posts have been deleted.


There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the deceased was British, or drunk, or murdered or committed suicide. This kind of endless speculation based on nothing at all could prove very painful to members of this man's family once he is identified.

Please do try to show some kind of sensitivity.

Not so easy actually...First, for the a person to have such records on file, they would have to have had a prior police record, or have been in a gang, (and have gotten the tattoo prior to the police contact.) Second, at least in the states there is no such thing as a "police computer" as you describe. There are levels of overlapping jurisdictions each with their own records systems. Each state, county, and city have their own databases, as do several federal entities. It would likely take several searches on several records systems to come up with anything useful.

This post has been edited by Scubabuddha: 2009-05-02 22:07:26

If he was an expat, I hope he had a great life.
If he was a visitor, I hope it ocurred at the end of his vacation.

What difference does his nationality make?

Too many on this forum just can't let it go.

statistics can be soooooo misleading. In regard to rapes and murders and assaults, much is predicated on the cultural proclivities of people involved, and whether they're inclined to file a police report. Some places (US and UK) you'd expect people to be more inclined. In contrast, formal reports to Thai authorities, of serious crimes - are a lot less likely. Imagine a bar scene in Pattaya, where bottles get smashed on rowdies' heads. Can you imagine, after the melee, that the participants go right to the police station to spend 3 to 4 hours filing a detailed report?

Similarly, rapes are more likely to be reported in some countries than in others. Indeed, in an Arab country, reporting a rape can result in a death sentence for the woman who lodges the charge.

Please read post 43. I am not saying the deceased is British!!

Texpat Quote
If he was an expat, I hope he had a great life.
If he was a visitor, I hope it ocurred at the end of his vacation.

What difference does his nationality make?

Too many on this forum just can't let it go.

SBK Quote

There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the deceased was British,