Foreigner die in Bangkok -Procedure

[hadock]

Hello,

 

 a friend of mine moved four month ago to bangkok to retire. We saw us once a week and chat a few times. Last week i send him a few messages which he not had read. I try to call him, but no answer. So i start to be worry he may be in some trouble. Today I asked my Thai GF to call the owner of the place where he lived. The owner told my gf that my friend is dead. They open the door at the 29th and he was lying dead on his bed. He had a heart attack. Police was at his condo also and they pack all belongings and store in police station. Thats the short version from the owner of the place. If i want more informations i have to ask the police by myself. I  am the moment not in BKK, so i cant do anything. I called his brother today in germany and he didn`t know anything, which was of course a shock for him.

 

Does anybody know what is the standard procedure in a situation like this? The police inform the german embassy, and the german embassy try to find some family members in germany and inform them? How long does this usally take, and what will be the next step.

I had never dealt with such a situaation.  I told the brother the best thing is to contact the embassy in bkk.

 

Anybody some advice?

 

Thank you...

 

 

[orchis]

yes. police or you inform the embassy and embassy (consular section) will sort it out.

i had someone i knew who died; i phoned his info (i had his passport info plus address of stay and current location of body) to consul and they 

recontacted the police of the locality and also the overseas relatives, since you already contacted his brother you can pass his contacts to the consular section of the embassy as well.

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by orchis

[Kerryd]

Hopefully the police are able to determine his nationality (via his passport or other documentation) and contact his embassy.

The embassy would then try to contact any relatives in his home country.

The German Embassy probably has articles/links about what to do in the event someone (German) dies while in Thailand. When my dad died I checked with the (Canadian) Embassy website and found articles about what to do in the event someone dies while overseas. (They also detail what they can do and what they won't do.)

If they are able to make contact, then it would be up to that relative(s) to make any necessary arrangements for the deceased. One would hope that he left a Will somewhere (back home or in Thailand) with instructions.
The relative(s) would be expected to make any funeral arrangements as well (the embassy has no responsibility for repatriating the remains but may assist with contacting an organization that deals with such matters). It would be up to the relatives (or the Executor named in the Will) to sort out financial matters with the (native) government for things like pensions and such.

 

When my dad passed on back in 2010, he left a Will and named me as the Executor. Despite leaving everything to me (less a small payout to his former companion) and naming me as the Executor, Thai law requires that a period of 45 days must pass before the Will can be probated. Apparently this is to allow time for other relatives or agencies to come forward and dispute the Will. 

(When the time came it was pretty quick and easy. Dressed nice, went to the court with my lawyer, was called up to swear an oath. Had 2 choices, a Buddhist oath or a Christian one. I adlibbed an "atheist" affirmation that apparently satisfied the judge. The lawyer spoke, the judge asked a couple of questions which I answered and that was it. Maybe 10 minutes in total.)

 

If I recall, the deceased would be kept in the morgue for a period of time (3 months ?) and if not claimed by then, would be given a "paupers cremation" at a local temple. His belongings would probably remain at the police station and again, after a certain period of time (or upon a court order) would be considered to be "property of the state" and disposed of accordingly.

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Kerryd

[oldrunner]

Don't know about any other countries but if a US Citizen dies at home, the procedure is to notify the Police who will, if no criminal act involved, take the remains to their Medical examiner in Bangkok where an autopsy will be performed. If no complications, a local funeral service can prepare the body for the family.

Thai wife, in my case will take the Police medical certificate to the US Embassy to get certified copies of the

death certificate. These will be required for notification to Military pay (in my case), several life insurance policies, collect balance of checking/savings account. All of this should be in writing and understood by the widow. Help is available for widows of retired servicemen via the VFW

 

If a US Citizen dies while being cared for in a Thai Hospital, that Hospital can issue a Certificate of Death which can then be presented to the US Embassy, as stated above.

[blackcab]

An off topic post and a reply to it have been removed.

[hadock]

ok understand, thank you orchis, Kerryd and oldrunner