- John Max Neale, 58, died in a drunken brawl after 4 a.m.
- A 29-year-old Briton allegedly delivered a knockout punch
A Western Australian man who died during a drunken brawl with a British tourist in Thailand has been identified as a construction worker.
John Max Neale, 58, had been drinking with a UK national, 29, when they got into a fight outside his hotel, the Walk In Mansion, in Pattaya, south of Bangkok, after 4am. early Friday morning.
Thai authorities say the 29-year-old man punched Neale, who fell and hit his head on the pavement.
He was lying on the ground without a pulse when paramedics arrived.
They performed CPR and rushed him to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, but could not revive him.
The Briton was taken to the Pattaya City Police Station.
Police say they have continually denied the allegations against them, despite four eyewitnesses and CCTV accounts showing the alleged incident.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Neale was originally from Leicester in the UK before moving to Mount Helena, outside Perth, where he ran his own construction consultancy business.
John Max Neale (pictured) died during a fight at 4am in Thailand on Friday
Emergency services attended the scene (pictured) but Mr Neale had no pulse.
In December, he appeared at Midland Magistrates Court for two driving-related offences.
He lost his license, was fined $1,250 for driving under the influence and was forced to pay more than $600 for driving more than 20 km/h over the speed limit.
In July, two months before he died, he bought a house in Newman, about 1,000 kilometers north of the Pilbara region, for $480,000.
Over the weekend, police Major Tanongsak Inphadung told Thai media that the Briton was “drunk at the time” of the incident.
“He refused to say anything, even though we had an interpreter, and he will get a lawyer to defend the lawsuit,” Mr. Inphadung said.
Pictured: The area outside the ‘Walk In Mansion’ hotel where the alleged incident took place.
‘We have 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 authorities asked the court to keep him in the Pattaya remand prison.
The cause of the altercation is unclear.
Pattaya used to be a fishing village, but is now known as a Destination for sex tourism.