British boxer, 21, found dead in hotel room with ‘drug paraphernalia’ next to unconscious Australian star
A BRITISH boxer has been found dead in a Thai hotel room reportedly next to drug paraphernalia.
The 21-year-old was with Australian Muay Thai star Jayson Tonkin in a room on the fourth floor in the coastal resort city of Pattaya.
Cops said the two men were found just after midnight Wednesday with “drug paraphernalia” on the table after staff heard a commotion in the room.
On arriving they found Jayson panicking “in a state of severe intoxication” about why the other person was “lying still”, local media reported.
The Brit was dead and was shirtless, wearing just black shorts and a waist bag.
A police spokesman said: “We have taken photos of the scene and collected all evidence.
“We believe he may have died from a drug overdose based on what we found in the room.
“We will question his friend further when he is conscious.”
Jayson was later taken to hospital and is currently in the ICU unconscious.
Despite that, Thai cops, who take a hard line on drugs, could charge him with consumption or possession leading to up to five years in prison, the Daily Mail reports.
Jayson, originally from Manly in Sydney, moved to Thailand as a teen and had begun fight in Muay Thai bouts.
A middleweight Muay Thai fighter nicknamed The Dingo, Jayson opened up about his struggles with drugs – and in particular methamphetamine – in a podcast about mental health made earlier this year.
One fight planned for October 20 against WBC Muay Thai world number one middleweight champion, Tengnueng Sitjaesairoong had been cancelled after Monsoon rains had hit the area.
The Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”