- John Max Neale, 58, died after 4am in a drunken brawl
- The British man, 29, is said to have delivered a knockout punch
A Western Australian man killed in 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 British national, 29, when they got into an argument outside their hotel – the ‘Walk In Mansion’ – in Pattaya, south of Bangkok, after 4am on Friday.
Thai authorities say the 29-year-old punched Neale before he fell and hit his head on the sidewalk.
By the time paramedics arrived, he was sprawled on the ground with no pulse.
They performed CPR and rushed him to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, but he could not be revived.
The British man was taken to Pattaya City police station.
Police say he has consistently denied the allegations against him, despite four eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage showing the alleged incident.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Mr Neale was originally from Leicester in Britain before moving to Mount Helena, on the outskirts of Perth, where he ran his own construction consultancy.
John Max Neale (pictured) died during a 4am brawl in Thailand on Friday
Emergency services were called to the scene (pictured) but Mr Neale had no pulse
In December he appeared at Midland Magistrates Court charged with two driving-related offences.
He lost his driver’s license and was fined $1,250 for drunk driving, and was forced to pay more than $600 for driving over the speed limit of more than 20 km/h.
In July, two months before he died, he bought a house in Newman, about 1,000km north of the Pilbara region, for $480,000.
Over the weekend, police major Tanongsak Inphadung told Thai media that the British man was “intoxicated at the time” from the incident.
“He refused to say anything even though we had an interpreter, and he will hire a lawyer to defend the lawsuit,” Mr Inphadung said.
Pictured: the outdoor area of 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 lived on the same floor.”
Authorities asked the court to detain him in Pattaya Remand Prison.
The cause of the argument is unclear.
Pattaya used to be a fishing village but is now known as one sex tourism destination.