Crime
Family of Briton Sam Austin Raises Funds to Bring his Body Home after his Unexplained Death
Sam Austin (Second Left) moved to Thailand to start a new life just a few weeks ago
BANGKOK – The family of a British National Sam Austin who died in mysterious circumstances in Thailand have made an appeal for money needed to fly his body home.
Sam Austin, 26, died on November 13, just weeks after flying to Thailand to start a new life, but the Thai authorities are yet to tell his distraught family how it happened.
The Family say’s that he had not taken out travel insurance so his parents must foot the bill to bring his body back to Britain.
Friends and family in the UK, have turned to crowd funding to raise the £15,000 required to bring Sam back to the UK.
Mr Austin had visited Thailand several times before but decided to make the move permanent a few weeks ago, finding bar work when he arrived.
The first his mother Kalpana Austin, 48, knew about her son’s death was when police left a note asking her to contact them.
After she replied, officers came back to her house and broke the news that Sam had died in a ‘tragic accident’ – but so far no details of what happened have been released.
Mr Austin’s friend Jonna Russell, 28, has launched a crowdfunding website and a Facebook page in his honour.
So far more than 300 friends and family have donated £8,200, more than half of the cash needed to repatriate Mr Austin’s body.
If they do not make the total then the labourer will have to buried or cremated in Thailand.
The fundraising page says: ‘Anything we can raise above that total will go to his mum to make sure she’s looked after – a promise a few of us made to him before he left for Thailand.
‘Basically give as much as you can, we need to get Sam back to Bristol.’
To visit the donation page, click here.
