Woman seeks answers to father's Cambodia death

Sonny Suberu loved to travel and was in the middle of drafting his third book, his daughter said

A woman is desperately searching for answers following her father's death in Cambodia in what she believes are suspicious circumstances.

Travel enthusiast and author Sonny Suberu, 60, from London, has been described as an optimist who lived life to the fullest.

He had been travelling across Southeast Asia but reportedly died following a fall at his hotel in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, which local authorities claim was a suicide.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said the team were supporting the family and were in contact with local authorities.

His daughter Shannon Boateng, from Walsall, has been left heartbroken and is fighting to find out what happened.

“I believed I would grow up with my dad, he would be there when I got married, he’d be there to watch my daughter grow up, all of this has been taken away from me within the blink of an eye,” she said.

Shannon Boateng does not believe that her father took his own life

A police report concluded that Mr Suberu, an IT consultant, had taken his own life by jumping from the 22nd floor of the complex he was staying in just before midnight on 26 March. He was confirmed dead in hospital a couple of hours later.

No drugs were found in his system, the Cambodian police have said.

Less than a month before, a similar incident happened at the same hotel.

Local newspaper, The Khmer Times, reported an arrest following the death of another man at the building after a fall from the upper stories in the middle of the night.

Mr Suberu had attended a friend's wedding in Cambodia while travelling

For his daughter, the story does not add up.

Ms Boateng said: “I refuse to believe what they are saying, it’s out of my dad’s nature. There is no evidence being provided.

“He would not want me to sit here and let his death be brushed under the carpet.”

As his only daughter, she shared a close bond with her father and had spoken to him just 10 days before his death, when he had called to share stories about his travel adventures.

Now, Ms Boateng is trying to prevent officials from cremating Mr Suberu’s body before he is brought home.

Mr Suberu has been remembered as a loving father who had the ability to light up any room

“I feel like the UK’s government has let us down big time, my dad was a British citizen and lived in London his whole life,” she said.

“It makes no sense for them to say they can’t do anything. They have told me they can’t bring my dad’s body home.

“I need closure for the sake of my dad, I can’t keep questioning, what happened to my dad? What did someone do? How did he die? It’s killing me.”