High-flying Australian lawyer dies in Thailand
Christopher Saines, the chief executive of Brisbane firm GLG, died early on Monday local time while on holiday with his wife and family in the island of Koh Samui, local media reported.
Shocked staff at the law firm told news.com.au that the leading commercial and property law solicitor was expected back at work next week.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Phumaret Inkong of Bo Phut Police Station said officers found Mr Saines 'lying dead' when they arrived at the parlour near Chaweng Beach, adding there were no signs of injury or struggle.
'He had just finished getting a massage, dressed, and went to the bathroom. Then, he asked to sit and rest on the bed for a moment, and he simply fell asleep,' the police officer said.
'The masseuse said that he was snoring so loudly that they had to ask the guests nearby if they wanted to change rooms. He stayed like that until around 3am, when the shop closed, and the masseuse left him to sleep in the room.
'At around 6am, she came back up to wake him, but he didn't respond. She then called her friend to help check on him. That's when they discovered that he had passed away. It's believed that he died some time after 4am.'
The Saines were staying at a $4000 per night hotel, Mia Villas, and local media reports staff went looking for him when he did not return on Sunday night.
Mr Saines' wife, Chantho, was informed of his death about 3pm on Monday.
Mr Inkong also said police were investigating a zip bag containing white powder found in Mr Saines' pocket.
'We found a brown zip bag containing a white powdery substance that resembled cocaine in his pants pocket.
'But we can't confirm it yet, it needs to be sent for lab analysis. From initial field testing using police reagents, it's presumed to be an illegal drug, but we're not sure if it's actually cocaine.'
According to a biography on the GLG website, Mr Saines had spent a career working at some of Queensland's most prestigious law firms.
'Christopher is an active member of the legal community, being a member of the Queensland Law Society, committee member of the International Bar Association, committee member of Basic Rights, and a board member of Aged Care Review,' it states.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
Former AFL player reportedly tested positive to performance enhancing substance
A former AFL player reportedly tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance while playing in a lower-level competition following the end of his professional career. The player, who finished his AFL career in 2023, has this year been placed under provisional suspension, per Code Sports. It's understood the player tested positive while playing in a lower-level league last year, and despite having put an end to his professional career by that stage, could still be tested under the AFL's Anti-Doping Code within 12 months of his AFL exit. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The report elected not to name the player in question. The player's test was undertaken by Sport Integrity Australia; the governing body, formerly known as ASADA, which aims to preserve fairness at all levels of Australian sport. Under the AFL Anti-Doping Code, if a player intentionally takes a prohibited substance to gain an advantage, they are subject to a maximum ban of four years. Local leagues, including the state competitions, are held to the same rules. In late 2024, ex-Melbourne player Joel Smith was suspended four years by SIA for cocaine use and trafficking after turning up a positive result on a matchday test in August 2023. But unlike Smith's circumstances, Niall reports the unnamed player in question's alleged breach was 'for a substance that is banned both in and outside the competition'. He noted also that positive results for performance-enhancing drugs were 'extremely rare' in the AFL, as cases of positive tests for illicit substances are more common. Then-Collingwood players Josh Thomas and Lachie Keeffe copped two-year bans in 2015 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The 'Essendon 34' that were banned for the 2016 season after four years' worth of investigation did not return positive tests for a banned substance but rather were suspended on circumstantial evidence they were administered with a banned substance.
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Court's stunning apology to South Australian MP over blackmail charges
A South Australian court has apologised for a system error which logged a guilty finding against an ex-MP who was accused of blackmailing Premier Peter Malinauskas. Annabel Digance is suing Mr Malinauskas for damages, claiming he orchestrated a 'malicious prosecution' against her to further his own political ambitions and crush a parliamentary inquiry into alleged bullying in the Labor Party. During a hearing in the South Australian Supreme Court in late July, Justice Graham Dart told the court that Ms Digance and her husband Greg had been found guilty of blackmailing Mr Malinauskas. The court was told their charges were later dropped, according to court records. Ms Digance and her husband Greg were charged with blackmailing Mr Malinauskas in 2021. The SA Courts Administration Authority (CAA) said in a statement on Tuesday that neither Ms or Mr Digance had been found guilty. The court said that in April 2023 a nolle prosequi order was made, meaning the prosecution was abandoned. 'There were no orders made which involved a finding of guilt against either of the defendants,' the court said in a statement. The court said that a document which stated that a finding of guilt had been made was 'generated in error and is incorrect'. 'The CAA unreservedly apologises to the parties for this error,' the court said in a statement. 'The CAA will review all court matters with orders made in the same circumstances to ensure that court records are accurate. 'The CAA will also commission an external assurance review into this matter.' In Ms Digance's statement of claim in her civil lawsuit, she argued that her arrest and prosecution caused 'injury, loss, damage and harm' and that Mr Malinauskas conspired with the SA Police to pursue her. She is suing both the premier and the State of South Australia and is seeking $2.3m in damages. The matter is scheduled to return to court in September.
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
Cop's courtroom grope dismissed as ‘joke'
EXCLUSIVE A police prosecutor who was found to have harassed a female court officer while working inside a courtroom has been cleared of all charges, on the basis that the act could have been 'a joke'. SA Police officer Greg Hill, 62, was charged with aggravated indecent assault after he was reported for 'tickling' the left buttock of the court officer after she called him into a courtroom in 2022. The woman was working as a court officer, which ensures the smooth running of the court and includes letting lawyers know when they are required in the courtroom. The woman told police she was holding the door open for Mr Hill when he 'touched her left buttock'. She described the touch as 'feeling his fingers move in a tickling movement'. 'It made her angry as he had no permission to touch her,' the court heard. She told police she said to him: 'I wouldn't be doing anything like that to me if I were you' to which Mr Hill 'stepped back and laughed'. She then said: 'I'm serious, I'll have you for sexual harassment' before Mr Hill replied: 'I don't know whether to take you seriously or not'. The incident was captured on CCTV and showed that Mr Hill had his fingers 'curled' and that 'movement of his fingers was consistent with a tickling motion'. The magistrate was 'satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt' that Mr Hill 'deliberately tickled [the woman's] left buttock, it could not be proven that he did so for 'sexual gratification or [to] cause sexual humiliation.' The magistrate said that while the 'harassing, unacceptable and disrespectful' act amounted to 'unwanted touching' - the element of indecency could not be proven. 'It was just as likely the action was a joke or ill-conceived gesture,' the magistrate said. 'There was no suggestion of any flirting behaviour by the defendant. The touch was not accompanied by any comment or other behaviour.' He was found not guilty and acquitted of the charge. The matter was put before the SA Supreme Court last week after the Commissioner of Police appealed against the acquittal. Supreme Court Justice Laura Stein dismissed the appeal on Thursday, finding the magistrate did not err in finding a 'failure to establish sexual intention'. 'Regardless of that conclusion, I reiterate the Magistrate's comments that the behaviour was harassing, unacceptable, inappropriate and should not have occurred,' Justice Stein said in her decision.
