Thai man held after British tourist shot dead at New Year's Eve party Today, he was being questioned by police after he was arrested in a remote part of the island. The man is expected to be charged with manslaughter, police said. On his arrest, Ekkapan admitted he had fought with another group of men at Zoom Bar but denied firing the fatal shot, according to local reports. He is expected to appear in court today. Police Colonel Kittakarn Kramothong, said: "Stephen was not involved in the fight." Around 300 revellers attended the Countdown party at the Zoom Bar on Haad Rin beach on Monday night. The full moon beach party in Thailand (ALAMY) Witnesses said that two groups of Thai youths got into an argument which escalated into a fist-fight at around 4am. As one of the groups ran from the bar, one man turned and fired a shot back inside. Mr Ashton, from Croydon, south London, was shot in the torso. Sophie Harwin, a graphics editor from Surrey, had spent the evening nearby but left the area before the shooting occurred. "I just met someone who said loads of people were trying to save him," she said. Very sad. The shooting marks a double tragedy for the Ashton family, following the sudden death of his father, John Ashton, from a brain tumour just over a year ago. Mr Ashton, 51, was diagnosed with the tumour a few months after he was hit on the head by a burglar who had broken into the family's £1 million home in the leafy commuter village of Purley, where his mother Diane still lives with their daughter Emily, 20. Neighbour Dawn Mason said: "It's so sad. I can't imagine how Diane is feeling. And for it to happen so soon after John died - it's devastating. Stephen was a lovely lad. He used to have a few house parties and make lots of noise, but I didn't mind. He was just a normal boy. A friend said that Mrs Ashton, 48, a solicitor, had been told the news while away on a skiing holiday and was due to return home today. Mr Ashton had been staying with a group of friends at Pink's Bungalows, a series of basic wooden beachside properties in the fishing village of Ban Tai, not far from Haad Rin. He had posted a photograph of himself and two friends drinking beers in a Thai bar on Facebook on December 13. As news of his sudden death spread yesterday, many posted tributes on his web page. One friend, Aaron Kelly, wrote: "Horrible news. Be good up there mate. Mr Ashton is believed to have worked for investment company CSS Partners LLP. He had previously worked as a trader for H2O Markets, which tweeted: "Our thoughts are with the Ashton family, the world has lost another good person he was an outstanding employee of the firm." Haad Rin is famed for its monthly full moon parties, which attract thousands of revellers from across the world. But the Foreign Office travel advisory singles out Koh Phangan as a place of concern and specifically mentions roving Thai gangs. Many tourists have been attacked and even raped in the past and many Thais from Bangkok do not visit the Samui archipelago because of its reputation. Three Thais were gunned down in a similar fight on Haad Rin beach in 2004. In 2007 Israeli tourist David Kakitelashvic, 31, died after being stabbed eight knife times at the beach's Drop Inn Bar.