Facebook photo of Canadian Joseph Basha, 25, from Newfoundland and Labrador, who had disappeared on Dec. 21, 2011 in Hong Kong. Police in Hong Kong are investigating whether a body discovered in the city last Wednesday is him. Joey Basha Facebook page
Police in Hong Kong have confirmed that a body found in a public washroom last Wednesday is that of a missing Canadian.
Joseph Basha, a 25-year-old originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, was reported missing last week by friends in Hong Kong, where he had been living for years.
On Wednesday, a police spokesman told The Globe and Mail that a body found collapsed in a public washroom has been identified as Mr. Basha. He didn't have identification with him, police said, and the death doesn't appear suspicious but the investigation is continuing.
A statement from the Hong Kong police Thursday morning said that an autopsy revealed the preliminary cause of death as overdose, but that the investigation is continuing.
Mr. Basha, who was also known as Joey, had been living in Hong Kong for three years, according to local reports, and was pursuing a master's degree in international and public affairs at the University of Hong Kong. He was the lead singer of the band Milkteeth, which had been on MTV Asia and toured in Vietnam and Cambodia this summer.
Mr. Basha's friend, Casper Lai, reported him missing last Friday and created a poster and online groups trying to get the word out. Online, Mr. Lai wrote about how he'd become depressed after his father's death but Mr. Basha had helped him through.
"Now, it's my turn to do something good for Joey," he wrote.
"I'm so sad... I don't want to talk right now," Mr. Lai said, sobbing, when contacted by the Globe on Tuesday.
The South China Morning Post reported Wednesday that another friend, Mr. Basha's roommate, was the last one to see him, leaving their apartment "groggy and disoriented" at 2:30 a.m. to get some food.
Then, around noon on Wednesday, his body was found in a public toilet by a cleaner and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, the newspaper reported.
Consular officials were aware of reports of a missing Canadian in Hong Kong and are working with local authorities, a spokesman from Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said Tuesday, but no further details will be released for privacy reasons.
Two of Mr. Basha's distant relatives living in Newfoundland told the Globe that Mr. Basha's mother lives in St. John's while his father lives in Florida. Relatives were in Hong Kong this week to identify the body, according to police.
On her Facebook page, Mr. Basha's sister, Cindy, posted a message early Tuesday saying she regrets to say that her "beautiful, talented, sweet brother" was found dead.
"My brother was so loved and had such a significant impact on all of those who knew him," she wrote. "This was a such a tremendous loss for us all."