Expat from Belgium takes own life at Rawai shooting range

Chalong Police officers, medical personnel, and other relevant officials were called to the shooting range on Saiyuan Rd in Rawai at about 2.40pm.

Upon arriving at the scene, they found the body of a 52-year-old foreign man lying dead on the floor with a single gunshot wound to the head. A revolver was found nearby.

The man was identified by his Belgian passport as a local expatriate resident registered in Rawai. The man’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

It was not reported if Chalong Police officers were able to immediatelly obtain CCTV records from the scene. However, the police did not report anything that could lead to allegations that the death could be anything but suicide.

The death of the Belgian man came as the third alleged foreign suicide in Phuket within a span of just over two weeks.

On May 29, a tourist from Russia was found dead beside a building at a beachfront resort in Karon, apparently after jumping from his fourth-floor hotel room. The man was identified as Yuri Alekseenko, 43, from Moscow. Police learned that the man had family issues and an alleged drinking problem. 

Last Saturday (June 10), a man from Belarus was found hanged in Karon. The deceased was identified as 26-year-old Belarusian national Alexander Zapronenko, who had been staying with a friend in rented accommodation nearby. It was known that the man had been suffering from depression.

If you or anyone you know is in need of emotional support and counseling, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand at their 24-hour hotline 02-113-6789 (English & Thai) or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai).