Dutch expatriate Hans Lehner, 68, called police at about 10 am, after he found his partner, Pranee Srijam, dead in bed at their home in Nanai Rd, Patong. Investigators estimated the time of death as being about three hours earlier. There were no signs of violence, they noted.
Mr Lehner said he and Ms Pranee, 38, from Yasothorn province, had lived together for about a year.
On Saturday night she went out to buy Somtam Pla Ra (papaya salad with pickled fish). After eating it she suffered from severe diarrhoea. Eventually, he said, she fell asleep, while he watched television.
In the morning, he made coffee and then called her to join him. Hearing no response, he went to wake her but found her already dead.
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Department declined to comment on the case until tests on Ms Pranee have been completed. Eakkapop Thongtub