Phuket police investigate Englishman’s ‘whiskey poisoning’

PHUKET: -- Patong police have sent a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label whiskey for laboratory tests to determine whether a 77-year-old Englishman found dead in his Phuket guest suite was poisoned.

Duty Officer Lt Col Jongserm Preecha today told the Gazette that the tests were only a precaution.

No evidence of fighting was found in the man’s room, in a hotel off Patong’s famed Soi Bangla, he said.

Police were notified of the man’s death at 8pm last night, Lt Col Jongserm added.

The man was identified from his passport as a British national. He checked into the hotel on February 13, Lt Col Jongserm said.

His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

In the suite, police found the body on the sofa, with half a 700ml bottle of Red Label whiskey, a can of Coca-Cola, a glass and the man’s watch on the table in front of him.

The TV and air conditioning were still on when police arrived, Lt Col Jongserm said.

The man’s body has been taken to Patong Hospital, pending further instructions from the British embassy in Bangkok, he added.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-02-21

RIP. Sad dying alone at this ripe age and so far away from home, hope he had some family and gets a decent burial.

once in Phuket City, we where sold a Fake Bottle of Red Lable,

RIP

very sad story of an old mans death here in Phuket..RIP.. condolences to his familly..i have just read in my opinion a ver bad journalistic report in an article and comments in a daily blog whos editor is being discussed inTV..i can now see why he is....

It was suicide !

Phuket police always use that teory, so if there is poison in the bottle it is some he had put there himself !

Well you would automatically assume that if police suspected any form of foul play,a toxicity report from a coroner would be a prerequisite....but I won't say it...Don't start me off!!!

This would be standard procedure in any police investigation, but of course, the article has to have a sensational headline, or nobody would read it at all.

Journalism just gets worse every day. A race to the bottom.

This clearly concerns a counterfeit. Even an Englishman would know that Johnny Walker is "whisky", not "whiskey".

Well you would automatically assume that if police suspected any form of foul play,a toxicity report from a coroner would be a prerequisite....but I won't say it...Don't start me off!!!

I hope the test is not done at Patong Hospital, they will probably put it down to jelly fish stings, or hypothermia!

Regardless of whether or not the whisky was counterfeit the unscrupulous cowards producing these fakes - food, drink and medicine - are truly evil. Regarding whisky the very least they could do is use an extremely cheap but harmless substitute. Sick. And as for producing fake medicine that actually harms people......

Well you would automatically assume that if police suspected any form of foul play,a toxicity report from a coroner would be a prerequisite....but I won't say it...Don't start me off!!!

It says they are testing the whisky, doesn't say they are testing the Coca-Cola.......

Guy drinks half a bottle of whisky (whiskey - who cares) and his blood pressure tops out - stroke and or heart attack. Actually a fairly common occurrence in the West. Just cos it happens in Thailand and worse - Phuket (or Pattaya) it makes headlines. Another sad case but I love these comments "rest in peace" - what is there to rest? and peace! He's <deleted>' dead! That's lights out, game over.

Well it’s good to see the bib do their job correctly. Just read the thread where the English coroner with a case of suicide in Chiang Mai felt he had to ask if ‘no suspicious circumstances’really meant nothing suspicious.

Just like the "exemplary" investigation into the suspicious deaths on Phi Phi. Never hear about those anymore. Given enough time everything can be swept under the carpet.

This clearly concerns a counterfeit. Even an Englishman would know that Johnny Walker is "whisky", not "whiskey".

I doubt that the author was reading the label when he was penning this story so your assumption that it was a counterfeit probably doesn't hold true. Maybe he thinks it's distilled in Ireland just like Guinness USED to be brewed in London NB; I made sure that I spelled Guinness correctly as I can see how obsessed you are with the spellings on drink's labels, I was almost getting paranoid there!!!!!

Well you would automatically assume that if police suspected any form of foul play,a toxicity report from a coroner would be a prerequisite....but I won't say it...Don't start me off!!!

I hope the test is not done at Patong Hospital, they will probably put it down to jelly fish stings, or hypothermia!

Hypothermia in Thailand!!!!!!!!???????????? Not unless he got trapped in a freezer somewhere .

I guess the next of kin of the deceased still have to be contacted as there is no mention of any names as yet, how do they send these notifications? Did they ask Johnnie to walk down all the way up to the UK? it might take some time then......RIP

I guess the next of kin of the deceased still have to be contacted as there is no mention of any names as yet, how do they send these notifications? Did they ask Johnnie to walk down all the way up to the UK? it might take some time then......RIP

The next of kin were contacted within 48 hrs. No whisky was taken away. The can of Coke was unopened. The glass on the table was perfectly clean and dry and had not been used. The gentlemans property was handed over to a representative of the British Embassy from Bangkok.