Thread: British Tourist with Possible Mental Health Issue Assisted by Pattaya Officials After

A British man who was suspected to have mental illness suddenly jumped off Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya and swam away from rescuers, resisting aid, on Saturday, January 7th.


Pattaya security officer and eyewitness Mr. Thanongsak Chimluang told local media that he was facilitating tourists at Bali Hai Pier when he spotted one boat that abruptly stopped from docking.


Upon closer inspection, the officer found that one foreign man was floating in the sea, but he was not in danger of drowning because he was able to swim and was, in fact, attempting to swim away from the boat.

The man acted aggressively and refused assistance from Sawang Boriboon rescuers, according to Thanongsak. He tried to hide behind Bali Hai Pier’s foundation post, but rescuers were eventually able to lasso him with a rope and lifted him off the water onto a boat after over an hour.


Later identified as a British national, the man still resisted help and fought with rescuers and police as he was being transferred to the Pattaya police station. The man was about 45 years old, according to police, however, his name could not be identified. Police believed the man suffered from a mental condition.

Another eyewitness said he saw the tourist suddenly jumping off Bali Hai Pier into the sea when the boat he was riding on from Koh Larn was about to dock.


Pattaya mayor Poramase Ngampiches thanked every party involved for safely helping the tourist. He said this incident proved the effectiveness of Pattaya’s water security measures.


It was unknown what action would be taken against the tourist or if he would be taken to a psychiatric hospital after being brought to the Pattaya Police Station.

British Tourist with Possible Mental Health Issue Assisted by Pattaya Officials After Jumping Off Bali Hai Pier - The Pattaya News

Originally Posted by misskit

A British man who was suspected to have mental illness suddenly

A Brit with mental issues. Now there's a rare occurrence

Well that wasn’t a predictable comment at all.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Well that wasn’t a predictable comment at all.

Just an astute observation from someone with a lot of experience on mental issues.

Probably unsurprising considering the number of Brits in Thailand. It would be interesting to know the figures by nationality. Thai authorities seem to be more obsessed with the visa system rather than the quality of the people applying.
There appears to be many criminals and bikie gang members seem to enter the kingdom, many of them from Australian bikie gangs known for their criminality.
It always surprises me the number of europeans Brits and Americans who live on the other side of the planet in cold countries go to live in Thailand, yet relatively few aussies who live within spitting distance. Also many Australians live in a tropical climate and do not require much adaptation to the Thai climate. In my case coming from Queensland I am fairly acclimatised to the heat/humdity.

Acclimatised to a climate preferable to that in the UK...so less likely to leave.

It could be different in 100 years though.