AN AMMANFORD man has been found dead in Thailand.

Thai authorities have said they are treating the death of Andrew Green Thomas, whose body was found hanging close to his burnt out property in the town of Pattaya on the country’s eastern gulf coast, as suspicious with the local police chief refusing to rule out murder.

Investigators found the body of Mr Thomas, known as Alfie, near his burning house on Soi Tessabal Road during the early hours of August 1, in what was initially a suspected suicide. But, Thai police have since cast doubt on that assumption.

According to local reports, emergency services attended what was initially reported as a house fire.

Firefighters arrived on scene and battled the flames to bring the situation under control when they discovered the body of a man hanging from a water tank near to the property.

The dead man was identified as Mr Thomas, a 56-year-old former TRJ transport manager, who is understood to have owned a number of properties in the country.

Police questioned Mr Thomas’ Thai wife and her 29-year–old daughter from a previous marriage, who both live nearby.

Ms Narumol Jaemwong, the step-daughter, told police that her mother had received a call from Mr Thomas in which he threatened to kill himself and she had decided to go and see him.

She said her mother did not join her as she was afraid of Mr Thomas.

She claimed her mother had told her that Mr Thomas regularly “beat her up”.

Ms Jaemwong said that when she arrived she discovered the fire and tried to put it out using buckets of water from the swimming pool, but the blaze had been too fierce for her to handle.

She called for the emergency services and then noticed her step-father “hanging at the side of the property.”

Captain Pornchai Sangsila of the Thai Police appeared unconvinced by Ms Jaemwong version of events and told local media that he intended to discover “the real cause of death” following an official autopsy.