A 62-year-old German man who was being held on immigration charges was found dead in his cell at Banglamung Police Station in Pattaya yesterday.

Upon discovery of the body, identified as Bernd Hans Wittmann, at around 2pm on Friday afternoon, officers at the station called a doctor from Banglamung hospital to attend and determine the cause of death.

Dr Komuth Chumpakdee informed officers Mr Wittmann had died of natural causes several hours earlier and that he likely suffered from health problems that could have been made worse being locked up in a poorly ventilated jail cell leading to loss of breath and ultimately suffocation.

It was reported the German had been detained by Immigration Police and was being held awaiting prosecution and deportation for overstaying his visa.

The body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a full autopsy and the German Embassy in Bangkok informed of his death.





