Patong Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Jetsada Seangsuree said he was notified of the incident at about 11pm.
Police together with Kusoldharm rescue workers and an emergency team from Patong Hospital arrived at the scene, a driveway between buildings off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, to find the body of Aphinyo Kaewkhaw, 28, originally from Songkhla, face down on the ground with severe head trauma.
Lt Col Jetsada explained that police were told that the Turkish man and his friend on Tuesday night went to Bangla Rd, where one of them met Aphinyo and the other met a woman who Lt Col Jetsada named only as “Miss Prisana”.
“From our investigation, the Turkish tourist [under investigation] and Aphinyo met on Bangla Rd, and they went back to a room at the hotel together.
“The man’s friend met a woman named Miss Prisana, and they went to another room on the same floor at the hotel,” he said, declining to give Miss Prisana’s full name or age.
“Prisana told police that Aphinyo had knocked on the door to her room. She opened the door and Aphinyo and the Turkish tourist came in.
“She said that Aphinyo walked around the room and opened the balcony door. He then came up to her, held her hands and said ‘I’m leaving’, and then ran to the balcony and jumped,” Lt Col Jetsada added.
However, Lt Col Jetsada said that police had yet to confirm any part of the version of events provided by Miss Prisana.
“Miss Prisana is not Aphinyo’s friend or related in any way. We have yet to confirm anything we have been told. This is just what Prisana told us, None of this has been proved yet,” he said.
Lt Col Jetsada also declined to reveal what the Turkish tourist or his friend told police.
Reports online cite Miss Prisana as explaining to police that the friend who was in the room with her had left to go to the hotel lobby when Aphinyo and the Turkish man arrived at her room – explaining why the friend at this stage appears not to be under investigation.
Lt Col Jetsada also declined to confirm or deny reports online explaining that the Turkish man was taking a shower when he heard a noise like a door opening, and returned to the room to allegedly find that Aphinyo had stolen some of his belongings and was trying to flee.
The reports online also claim that the Turkish man had caught Aphinyo and accused him of the theft, with Aphinyo knocking on the door to the room Miss Prisana was staying in to get inside.
“We have not concluded whether Aphinyo committed suicide or was murdered. I need to work on the investigation more to confirm what caused the fall,” Lt Col Jetsada told The Phuket News.
“We cannot make any conclusions about the Turkish man until we have more evidence to prove what happened,” he said.
Lt Col Jetsada declined to confirm whether police considered the Turk to be a flight risk. He also declined to confirm whether police were holding the Turkish man’s passport.
Asked whether Phuket Immigration had been informed about the investigation, Lt Col Jetsada said “Not yet.”
Lt Col Jetsada did confirm that Aphinyo’s body had been taken Patong Hospital for further examination.
“We are checking CCTV footage at the hotel and in the area, and we are questioning witnesses, to try to find what led to Aphinyo’s death,” Lt Col Jetsasda said.