A British tourist from south east London was fatally beaten during a violent street brawl in Cape Verde earlier this month, according to local police.
Dean Taylor, 25, died while being rushed to Dr Ramiro Figueira Hospital on January 7 following the brutal attack in Santa Maria, a popular tourist destination on the island of Sal.
According to investigators, Mr Taylor became embroiled in a dispute with a group of around ten individuals of Cape Verdean nationality.
In their official statement, police said: "On the early morning of January 7 this year, around 03:00, there was a disagreement between a group of national and international individuals on the pedestrian street of Santa Maria, next to the Calema Pub, which resulted in the death of a 25-year-old Irish citizen."
The Foreign Office later clarified that Mr Taylor was in fact a British national.
Five suspects have since been taken into custody in connection with his death.
During the attack, Mr Taylor was allegedly "hit with chair blows" and sustained "several punches and kicks" as he lay on the pavement, according to Cape Verde Judicial Police
Alexander Taylor, the 25-year-old's father and a luxury brand manager, described the family's anguish following the tragedy.
Dean Taylor, 25, died shortly after the brutal attack in Santa Maria on the island of Sal
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"My wife is completely devastated. I've got a daughter as well and she's completely devastated," he said.
The grieving father said he received the devastating news through a relative who was in Cape Verde at the time.
"My brother-in-law that is in Cape Verde was the one that called me when I was at work on January 8 [to tell me Dean had died]," Mr Taylor recalled.
"It was terrible. I wouldn't wish that to anyone - not even my worst enemy."
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Cape Verde's Judicial Police confirmed that five arrests have been made in connection to the death (file photo)
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Mr Taylor had arrived in Cape Verde on December 28 alongside three friends from his school days, with plans to enjoy the increasingly popular holiday destination.
He was scheduled to return home the day after the fatal attack.
According to his father, the confrontation began when one of Mr Taylor's friends was speaking with a woman and an intoxicated man who knew her intervened.
"When my son and his friend saw him being abused, they got involved to check what was happening and protect him," his father explained.
Mr Taylor had arrived in Cape Verde on December 28 alongside three friends from his school days
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"That's when the argument escalated. There were people walking around and those people got involved."
The family faced additional hardship when the 25-year-old's travel insurance failed to cover repatriation costs, leaving them to pay more than £8,000 to bring him home.
The grieving father urged British visitors to "be very careful if you're going on holiday there and watch your back".
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are the supporting the family of a British man who died in Cape Verde and are in contact with the local authorities."
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