Cadet died ‘due to health issue’

[webfact]

Cadet died ‘due to health issue’

By THE NATION

 

 

Deputy PM Prawit says corporal |punishment is common practice in the military and there was no wrongdoing.

DESPITE a family’s concerns, the death of an 18-year-old cadet at a military academy was not caused by any irregularity or wrongdoing, senior officials insisted yesterday.

 

The defence minister, commander-in-chief, national police chief and forensic experts yesterday defended the actions taken after the cadet’s death on October 17.

 

Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon stressed the death of military student Phakhapong “Meay” Tanyakan was due to his health problems. He insisted that people with health issues should not become soldiers, as hard training and corporal punishment are common practices to train civilians to become soldiers.

 

 

The death of Phakhapong, a first-year cadet at the Armed Forces Academy Preparatory School (AFAPS) raised questions, as his family doubted the cause of his death. 

 

Some of his organs had been removed without the family’s knowledge or consent after an autopsy at the military-run Phramongkutklao Hospital.

 

Although the autopsy indicated that Phakhapong died of “sudden cardiac arrest”, the family suspected that his death might have been caused by the harsh punishment he had received at the military school. 

 

The family later asked the Justice Ministry’s Central Institute of Forensic Science to perform a second autopsy to verify the cause of death. The second autopsy found that some of Phakhapong’s organs were missing. 

 

Prawit said: “No one beat him. I believe the military school did not try to cover anything up because no one can hide the cause of death.

 

“The Army has already explained everything about this case. The CCTV footage has already been revealed and Phakhapong’s death has been documented.

 

 

“Everything will have to follow legal procedures while the Army also provides full support to the family,” said Prawit, who is also deputy prime minister overseeing military affairs.

 

Phakhapong’s elder sister, Supicha Tanyakan, has said that her sibling almost died on August 23 because of punishment he received at the school. 

 

“He fell unconscious and demonstrated low vital signs that day,” Supicha said. 

 

She added that her brother later told her that he had been punished because he and his friend were on a path prohibited by his seniors. 

 

“His senior forced him to put his legs up and his head down in a sauna room for hours,” she said. 

 

Asked about the corporal punishment, Prawit said all AFAPS cadets had to deal with that and it was normal for the military cadets to be trained hard and punished. 

 

“When I was a cadet there, I also received punishment and lost consciousness because of that. Anyway, I’ve survived,” he said.

 

He said that to avoid a similar incident, unhealthy people should not attempt to become a soldier, and military cadets should be prepared to be punished to maintain discipline.

 

It was disclosed on the private chat log on August 26 that Phakhapong and a friend had been punished until he was unconscious and his heart temporarily stopped beating. He recovered after medical treatment.

 

Phakhapong apparently urged his friend not to tell anyone about the incident.

 

Commander-in-chief of Royal Thai Army General Thanchaiyan Srisuwan said the Army has already set up a committee to investigate the chat log.

 

Thanchaiyan said that it was normal for a military cadet to be punished, but there was a regulation for punishment methods and harsh punishments are not allowed. There will be an investigation into the matter, he said.

 

“On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of our military school, we have improved our training standards,” Thanchaiyan said.

 

Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda, a commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police, said the report of a cadet’s death at the military school was not unusual or a surprise.

 

He said the investigation into the incident was in the process of verifying the cause of death. The removal of internal organs was normal procedure for an autopsy, he said. 

 

 

The Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) deputy director Dr Trairit Temahiwong said that it was lawful for a forensic doctor and investigation team to collect organs and tissues from a body without notifying the relatives, in the case of a suspicious death, for a thorough examination on the organs.

 

“It makes sense for the forensic team at Phramongkutklao Hospital to remove the brain, heart and some other organs for further examination, because this is a complex case, as the dead student was young and healthy,” Trairit said.

 

CIFS director Som Promros said the Phramongkutklao Hospital forensic team would transfer the collected organs to CIFS today for examination. The autopsy result would be finished by November 30, he said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30332285

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-23

[darksidedog]

I suspect that the "health issues" he had, probably arose as a result of a number of savage beatings, as has been the case in similar unexplained deaths in the military.

[ukrules]

When a young reasonably fit person suddenly dies while exercising it's often caused by undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

 

You don't know you have it until you drop dead.

 

Edited November 22, 2017 by ukrules

[Thailand]

Hazing or sprogging  or whatever is bad for your health and this looks like it is just another use of the big carpet.

[lupin]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

When a young reasonably fit person suddenly dies while exercising it's often caused by undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

 

You don't know you have it until you drop dead.

 

Absolutely, but it doesn't manifest with broken collar bones/ribs as well.

[DoctorG]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

“When I was a cadet there, I also received punishment and lost consciousness because of that. Anyway, I’ve survived,” he said.

Well this explains the loss of brain cells at least.

[leeneeds]

Testing the correct internal organs will only give them a little comfort, 

loss of their son, that pain is for ever,

Surely it is time for these deaths to stop , and abuse in the military, 

sure does not make men or ladies better soldiers on the battle field,

 

get out of the 18th century mentality 

[stephen tracy]

“No one beat him. I believe the military school did not try to cover anything up because no one can hide the cause of death." Lies, lies and more lies. Shameless disgusting fat toad. As if he ever received a beating and lost consciousness. Unbelievable that this buffoon is actually a general. What a joke.

[Sid Celery]

'Died due to health issues'. Remarkable. Died due to death I suppose...

 

Some years ago I saw an article (in the other place as I recall), in which the reason was sought for a very high %age of 'causes of death' written on death certificates by Thai doctors was 'heart failure'.

 

The guy being interviewed (who was himself a doctor as I recall), said it was because many doctors didn't really look for a cause of death, but wrote down 'heart failure', because ultimately, all deaths are cause by the heart stopping. I kid you not.

 

Welcome to Thailand.

[CantSpell]

Having the organs removed does surely classify as "health issue"... 

 

They also apparently have been "misplaced" 

[mikebell]

56 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

Unbelievable that this buffoon is actually a general. What a joke.

I thought the whole army were generals except for cadets AKA punch-bags.

[fxe1200]

"The second autopsy found both collarbones broken, a fractured fourth rib and internal bruising on the right side of his abdomen." (ABC news, Australia)

 

Thai PBS wrote:: "The victim bore bruises all over the body with four broken rib bones which were not caused during medical treatment or caused by a fall from a stairway.

The BBC: " What the doctors found were severe bruise marks, several broken ribs and broken collarbones - and the brain, heart, stomach and bladder had been removed from the body."

 

The Nation stopped to mention the results of the 2nd autopsy.

Edited November 23, 2017 by fxe1200

[YetAnother]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Prawit said: “No one beat him. I believe the military school did not try to cover anything up because no one can hide the cause of death.

more non-sensical blather; the military, it appears, tried to do exactly that, coverup; only due to some unusual tactics and stubbornness by the family has this even come to light

[alfalfa19]

I can't help but wonder if his organs were removed for sale?  And then put back when they got caught, or even used someone else's if the originals had been sold already.  Dead bodies and their organs seem plentiful in Thailand. 

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of our military school, we have improved our training standards,”

and 60 years from now we will improve again. But we refuse to improve on the occasion of a cadet's death.

[zyphodb]

Did anyone honestly expect them to say anything else?

[Jonmarleesco]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon stressed the death of military student Phakhapong “Meay” Tanyakan was due to his health problems. He insisted that people with health issues should not become soldiers, as hard training and corporal punishment are common practices to train civilians to become soldiers.

People with health issues are supposed to be identified at medical-check time. That said, Prawit somehow got in.

[RichardColeman]

Never trust a man that looks like a pig !

[tominbkk]

Apparently the health issue was too many kicks to the head.

[Sid Celery]

58 minutes ago, tominbkk said:

Apparently the health issue was too many kicks to the head.

 

Thais eh? Gotta luv 'em. Still, in this day and age it's useful to have something to point to as a horrible example, so I guess they can be useful. On occasion.

[Misterwhisper]

2 hours ago, mikebell said:

I thought the whole army were generals except for cadets AKA punch-bags.

Indeed. Thailand must be one of the few countries in the world capable of mustering an entire combat division comprising exclusively of generals.

[johncat1]

Surely cadets and soldiers are given a thorough medical check before they are even considered fit for the army so  Prawit is talking out of his a****e  when he says Cadets should make sure they are 100% fit for military training... The cadets and soldiers are not doctors so how are they supposed to know how fit they are ?

The army is completely to blame for his death and the senior cadets should at least be charged with manslaughter

[johncat1]

2 hours ago, Jonmarleesco said:

People with health issues are supposed to be identified at medical-check time. That said, Prawit somehow got in.

Maybe they don't count mental issues 

[sweatalot]

8 hours ago, ukrules said:

When a young reasonably fit person suddenly dies while exercising it's often caused by undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

 

You don't know you have it until you drop dead.

 

I guess the military would have announced this in a hurry - if it were the case with him.

[mark01]

Training for what?

The Thai military do pretty much f#&£ all, except man checkpoints, measure deckchair plots and parade.

Remember the last war Thailand was in? Exactly!!!

[thaiguzzi]

4 hours ago, fxe1200 said:

"The second autopsy found both collarbones broken, a fractured fourth rib and internal bruising on the right side of his abdomen." (ABC news, Australia)

 

Thai PBS wrote:: "The victim bore bruises all over the body with four broken rib bones which were not caused during medical treatment or caused by a fall from a stairway.

The BBC: " What the doctors found were severe bruise marks, several broken ribs and broken collarbones - and the brain, heart, stomach and bladder had been removed from the body."

 

The Nation stopped to mention the results of the 2nd autopsy.

Indeed.

This is on the front page of today's BBC World News website.

Horrific. Scumbag army cover up.

I feel for his family, though this being the army with, er, the army in govt, justice will never be forthcoming.

[Misterwhisper]

2 hours ago, mark01 said:

Training for what?

The Thai military do pretty much f#&£ all, except man checkpoints, measure deckchair plots and parade.

Remember the last war Thailand was in? Exactly!!!

1988. A short, week-long border war (or should I say, skirmish) with Laos. Guess who won. Exactly!

[Srikcir]

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

When a young reasonably fit person suddenly dies while exercising it's often caused by undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

 

You don't know you have it until you drop dead.

 

While some HCM sudden deaths occur following moderate to severe exertion, the increase in the relative risk of sudden death incurred by regular participation in vigorous exercise is unknown.

http://www.cardiomyopathy.org/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy/exercise-in-hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy-hcm

 

 

[IvanLaw]

Maybe "Lack of breath" or just cover up    RIP

[max2u]

16 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

I can't help but wonder if his organs were removed for sale?  And then put back when they got caught, or even used someone else's if the originals had been sold already.  

Sold for what usage?