Friends staying at the villa woke late today (Feb 22) to find the body of their friend and compatriot Gao Zhiyu, 30, from Yunnan Province in China, on the ground beside the high-set hillside villa.
Lt Col Somnuek Damkaew of the Kamala Police was consequently notified of the incident at 1pm.
Mr Gao was staying at the villa with two other men and three women, one of whom was his girlfriend, said Maj Eakkachai Siri of Phuket Tourist Police.
“They checked in to the villa on Tuesday (Feb 20) and were to check out on Saturday (Feb 24),” Maj Eakkachai said.
“Last night they held a party on the villa rooftop, which is about 20 metres above the ground,” he said.
“In the early morning, at about 1:40am, his friends went back to their rooms while Mr Gao stayed outside smoking alone,” Maj Eakkachai added.
“No one knew what had happened. His friends thought that Mr Gao went back to his room,” he said.
“His girlfriend woke up late this morning, but couldn’t find him, so they all started looking for him. Finally they saw Mr Gao’s body on the ground,” Maj Eakkachai explained.
“At this stage we believe that Mr Gao fell from the rooftop while he was smoking, or he might have jump downed to land in the pool, but missed.
“We are continuing our investigation,” Maj Eakkachai noted.