Yong Ali had no regrets in what he was, and what he was able to do. And what he was able to do, despite many years of adversity, was to fight the good fight, to carry a message of peace and reconciliation and good manners to a much wider audience, of people who were living in troubled times in the world.

“Many people thought he was crazy or not able to keep up the fight,” he said of Muay Thai fighters often ridiculed by Western media for not looking and standing the part. “The world has never been a happier place!”

“Khabib was never one of the bad boys,” added Mr Wong. “He loved it.”

On Wednesday, just hours before the Thai press were about to release the full report, Mr Wong told Fairfax Media that he now wishes he was able to speak to his brother again and apologise for his behavior in the media scrum.

“If I had been able to give him the time that I feel I did then, he may have had some remorse,” Wong added, as an emotional and teary-eyed Wan Seng Chawong stood beside him in the media scrum.

“I’m very sorry. And I’m really sorry for everything,” said Wan Seng. “But I’m telling you, everything is a story because I made a mistake, and now I have come forward – it’s a good thing – and it’s better that he does.”

While Mr Wan had previously said he intended to go to France and fight at the Lumpinee Stadium, there was no doubt that his sudden and sudden departure was a shock for those close to him.

“His family had already received lots of threats and abuse from other fighters – and they’re very good fighters because they’re very sensitive towards one another.

“They are close, and so many guys have approached them in the past – people in the media and the police – and they have been so kind and helpful to them.”

But Wong’s greatest sacrifice came when he became a father, and Wan Seng’s wife, Kian, gave birth to their first child, a daughter.

“I have to apologise for going to France to get his fight but I will never go again,” said Wong. “I know now that I had many plans to return to Thailand.

“But everything is a story.”

The full police report will