Irishman dies in Bangkok stabbing

AN Irishman is believed to have been stabbed to death by his girlfriend in Thailand during what police described as a drug-fuelled row in their Bangkok apartment.

After striking 27-year-old Paul Simon Mason, the girl stabbed herself, but she then phoned a security guard in the complex requesting an ambulance.

Police in Bangkok believe Mr Mason's Thai girlfriend, 23-year-old Surasda Tabtim, flew into a jealous rage during the row in the apartment around midnight local time yesterday.

Mr Mason, believed to be from the North and travelling on a British passport, had only days before moved into the apartment, in a middle class district of the Thai capital.

He was stabbed in the chest and died on his way to hospital. Ms Tabtim was in a critical condition when taken to hospital, said police Lieutenant Colonel Suchart Kaewsui.

Police were informed about the incident by a security guard at the couple’s Bangkok apartment who received a call from Surasada asking for an ambulance, Lt Col Suchart said.

A search of the apartment found a bloodstained knife and some marijuana, he said.

He said police suspected the couple might have been high on drugs and attacked each other. Mason arrived in Thailand on February 10 and rented the apartment five days later.

Local sources in Bangkok added that Ms Tabtim, despite being seriously injured, admitted to police that she had stabbed her boyfriend.