A British man found dead in a hotel room in Muang district of Chiang Mai province early Monday was believed to have died using a helium suicide mask, according to Thairath Online.
Pol Capt Montree Putthakhan of Muang district police station said police investigators, medical staff from Maharat Nakhon Chiang Mai Hospital and rescuers were dispatched to the hotel on Wiang Ping road in tambon Chang Khlan about 1am after an employee reported a foul smell coming from a room.
Inside the room they found a British man, identified later as Stephen Malcolm Roston, 62, lying dead on the bed. He was wearing a pair of white jeans, but no shirt.
His mouth was covered with a plastic mask connected by a tube to a helium tank at the bedside. Another tank of helium was also found in the room.
The doctors said the man died about three days earlier. His computer and other belongings were left untouched.
Police also found a suicide note, indicating that the man intended to end his life by inhaling helium while listening to songs from the computer.
Roston had stayed in the hotel room for about seven months. According to his hotel registration, Roston was a British national whose occupation was given as architect.
Police believed he committed suicide. Several other foreigners had also killed themselves using this method, police said.