Two Thai men were questioned about the incident but they were not arrested. The police chief said he would guarantee the Briton's security while he remained on Koh Tao.
"I need to get off this island," he said in an emotional interview before boarding a ferry to leave Koh Tao.
"I genuinely thought that was the day I was going to die. I genuinely thought that this was me dead. That I was gone."
"I phoned my mum, I phoned my sister. I told her I loved her and that I would try and make it home. I said that if this was going to be the last conversation that we had then it was a really sad one to have but she's been great and I love her.