31 May 2011 Last updated at 06:10 ET

Doubts over Hampshire man's Thailand lake 'suicide'

A murder inquiry has begun in Thailand after a Briton initially thought to have committed suicide by drowning was found to have serious head injuries.

Kevin Attew's body was found in a 1ft (30cm) deep lake at the Chaweng resort of Koh Samui, on 24 May.

An initial post-mortem examination found Mr Attew, 57, originally from Aldershot, Hampshire, had drowned.

But when a friend visited the body in the morgue he took photographs of wounds to Mr Attew's head and hands.

Mr Attew's body has now been taken to the Thai mainland for a second post-mortem examination.

'Very weird'

Mr Attew's girlfriend and employees at his bar were convinced he had committed suicide by throwing himself in the lake.

But his best friend Crispin Paton-Smith was unconvinced and went to view Mr Attew's body.

He said: "I'd known Kevin for quite a few years and I've been with him in lots of different situations. I just couldn't imagine this guy just walking off and committing suicide. The whole thing just seemed very weird so I wanted to go and see him.

"From the photos I took in the morgue I doubt very much that he drowned, but his staff were adamant that he had committed suicide."

Mr Paton-Smith said there was a blood line on the body which suggested Mr Attew had been left lying on the ground for some time before being put into the water.

He described his friend, who had lived on the popular holiday island of Koh Samui for seven years, as "a very friendly person" and said he was "liked by everybody".

A spokesman from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national on 24 May.

"We are helping the family through this difficult time but it's a police investigation so we will not comment on anything ongoing."