PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN -- A Belgian businessman fell from the rooftop of an eight-storey hotel in the seaside district of Hua Hin and died of his injuries in hospital early on Monday, police said.
Pol Col Sithichai Srisophacharoenrat, the Hua Hin police chief, led a team of police to the hotel in the heart of Hua Hin shortly after midnight on being informed that a Belgian man was on the verge of committing suicide.
When they arrived the 31-year-old man was sitting by the railing on the roof's edge with his legs hanging down on the outside. A small crowd had gathered in front of the hotel, Pol Lt Pornchanok Lert-awas, duty officer at Hua Hin station, said.
Rescue workers from a charity foundation and Hua Hin Municipality laid air cushions on the ground in front of the hotel.
The police tried to talk to the man and calm him down, but he kept yelling and would not allow anyone to get near him.
After about two hours the man looked exhausted and kept biting his fingernails. Suddenly, he rose up, launched himself over the railing and plunged to the ground in front of the hotel, Pol Lt Pornchanok said.
He was rushed to Hua Hin Hospital, but was later pronounced dead from his injuries.
Pol Sithichai said the Belgian and his friends jointly invested in a restaurant in Hua Hin township. The business lately ran into financial problems. He also bought a house which cost several million baht, but had a problem with the transfer of ownership to his name.
Witnesses told the police that the man came to the hotel in a Toyota Fortuner. He went into the hotel and traight up to the rooptop.
His body was sent to the police Institute of Forensice Medicine for examination.
Relatives were being informed.