The body of a high-profile n lawyer has been found just minutes from where cricket legend Shane Warne suffered a fatal heart attack in 2022.
Christopher Saines, the 43-year-old CEO of Brisbane’s GLG Legal, was found unresponsive at Siam Touch Massage parlour on the Thai holiday island of Koh Samui at about 6am on Monday.
Emergency services were called to the shop in Bo Phut, close to the villa where Warne died, at about 7am after workers discovered the lawyer wasn’t breathing.
Police believe Mr Saines left his $4,000-a-night hotel, Villa Mia, where he was staying with his wife and children, around midnight and paid 400 baht, AUD$19, for a one-hour traditional oil massage.
His wife, Chantho, is a manager at GLG Legal. It’s understood Mr Saines’ brother is a senior employee at the firm.
Initial inquiries suggest the 43-year-old died of heart failure.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Phumaret Inkong said officers found a ziplock bag containing a white powder, suspected to be cocaine, in Mr Saines’ trouser pocket.
‘But we can’t confirm it yet, it needs to be sent for lab analysis,’ he said.
‘From initial field testing using police reagents, it’s presumed to be an illegal drug, but we’re not sure if it’s actually cocaine.’
Masseuse Premyupa, 47, told local outlet Thaiger that Mr Saines had arrived at the parlour alone and was walking barefoot.
‘After we finished, he said he wanted to lie down and rest. I left him for a while, and when I came back, he was still snoring,’ she said.
‘It wasn’t until much later I realised he wasn’t breathing.’
Premyupa last heard Mr Saines ‘snoring’ at about 4am and claimed when she returned to wake him two hours later, he was cold and unconscious.
Police and medics from Koh Samui Hospital found him on a narrow bed inside one of the shop’s private upstairs rooms.
The lawyer was lying horizontally across the bed with his legs dangling over the side. No foam was found around his mouth.
Lieutenant Colonel Inkong said police are not treating Mr Saines’ death as suspicious.
‘There were no signs of physical struggle. The masseuse had no injuries either. The massage proceeded normally,’ he said.
‘Right now we are waiting for the results of the drug test and the autopsy report, which may take several days depending on the case, but we will try to expedite it as quickly as possible.’
While there were no CCTV cameras inside the massage parlour, which offers sexual services, police found footage outside the shop which showed Mr Saines arriving barefoot and carrying a can of beer.
Mr Saines’ wife was informed of his death at 3pm on Tuesday.
His body has been taken to Surat Thani Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.