British pensioner, 89, falls to his death from fifth floor balcony in Thailand

A British pensioner plunged to his death from the fifth floor of an apartment building in Thailand this morning.

The 89-year-old man was found dead around 6 a.m. Friday, lying face down in a pool of blood next to the swimming pool of the Star Beach Condotel in Pattaya.

Local police arrived on the scene and discovered that the Brit was wearing only his blue underpants and had a bandage around his head.

They cordoned off the area and covered his body while they investigated the death and interviewed the building’s receptionist and the nurse who had cared for the elderly man.

They said he had been heartbroken since his younger lover left him three years ago.

Security guard Sornsak Sopha, 40, said: “People staying in the condominium reported to me that someone had fallen from a building. So I rushed to check and found that the person who had fallen was a foreigner.

‘He had died and at first I was very shocked and couldn’t do anything. When I gathered my thoughts, I called the police to come and investigate.”

The man’s caregiver, Anansit Suttaso, 57, said the retired Briton suffered from a chronic illness that required nightly medical care.

She said: ‘He often complained to me about missing his partner and lover, who had been gone for more than three years. I never thought something like this would happen.’

Police Colonel Thanaphong Phothi, the chief inspector of Pattaya City Police Station, said he has ordered officials to investigate.

The police officer said: “Forensic officers are checking the room and officers and reviewing CCTV footage of the entire area to gather evidence to close the case.

“There are no signs of a struggle or robbery in the deceased man’s room.”

The pensioner’s body has now been taken to a local hospital for post-mortem examination and the British Embassy in Bangkok has been informed.

MailOnline has contacted the British Foreign Office for comment.