Brit tourist 'beats Australian tourist pal to death' in town dubbed 'Sin City'

Thai police in Pattaya say that the man's cause of death is yet to be confirmed but claim the Brit 'cannot contest the charges' because they have 'complete evidence' against him

An Australian man was beaten to death by his British friend in a popular tourist destination in Thailand, according to local police.

The 58-year-old, was drinking beer with a younger British man when they were reported as having descended into a drunken row in front of their hotel in Pattaya - sometimes known as 'Sin City' - before dawn on September 27. The pair were said to have sparked panic as they came to blows in the street, with terrified locals watching on.

The Brit reportedly delivered a knockout punch that caused the Aussie to smash his head on the pavement. Medics were called to the scene at around 4:30am, where they found the older man sprawled on the ground with no pulse.

They performed CPR and rushed him to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital but said they could not revive him Police Major Tanongsak Inphadung of the Pattaya City Police Station confirmed the death, identifying the Brit as the suspect, and said the cause of death was still pending.

He stated: "The suspect still denies the charges, but he cannot contest us because we have complete evidence. We have security camera footage from the restaurant and four witnesses who drank together with them. They were all Thais.

"Tomorrow, we will request the court to detain him at Pattaya Remand Prison. He refused to say anything, even though we had an interpreter, and he will get a lawyer to defend the lawsuit. The suspect was drunk at the time. We need to wait for the autopsy results to see if the deceased was also drunk, but he was seen drinking for hours before the incident. They were tenants on the same floor."

The cause of their fight was not clarified by officials. Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the US military had bases in Thailand to stem the flow of Communism from the east. In the ensuing years, the coastal resort spawned into a semi-barbarous sex-tourism destination. Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects but a ravenous nightlife industry continues to dominate the area.

Elsewhere in Thailand, a middle-aged holidaymaker from Australia was filmed being wrestled to the ground by armed airport police in Phuket on September 22 after being told he could not have any more booze. He became enraged when a waitress refused to serve him more alcohol as he was already "very drunk."

Stunned onlookers said the man stumbled out of the bar and started trying to fight other passengers who were waiting for their flights. Six armed officers arrived and reportedly tried to calm him down, which only made him more angry.

The person who recorded the footage, also from Australia, said: "I was really disappointed to see Australians or anyone for that matter behave in this way. He was extremely drunk at the bar, got cut off, and then proceeded to fight anyone who so much looked at him."