Phi Phi Poisonings: Autopsy Results On Canadian Sisters ‘Inconclusive’

[smedly]

I think Canadian police should be invited to go over all the evidence and report to the public what they find, perhaps that might shed some light on what actually went on, the Thai authorities seem incapable of giving factual accurate information - nothing so far adds up to anything, just a confusing pile of <deleted>, I'm starting to doubt any of it has been true

[bigbamboo]

This is getting very scary.... is there a new Charles Sobhraj among the Asian tourist set. Where, who, why......very scary. The backpacking set a very open and friendly group of people.

This needs to be an international effort to determine what is really going on here. The first component required is the the Thai authorities to acknowledge their inability to deal with this alone and make it a pan-Asia investigation with western forensic brought in to deal at the highest level.

I agree this is best explanation

+1

Wow this guy was a BAD boy !!! Hmmm he seemed to like to poison people and moved in the backpacker set...... Here is my favorite part from the Wikipedia article about him. Guess the Thai police have not changed over the years .....

Sobhraj then went to Calcutta, where he murdered Israeli scholar Avoni Jacob for his passport, and used it to move to Singapore with Leclerc and Chowdhury, then to India and - rather boldly - back to Bangkok in March 1976. There they were interrogated by Thai policemen in connection with the murders, but easily let off the hook because authorities feared that the negative publicity accompanying a murder trial would harm the country's tourist trade.

Plus ca change n'est-ce pas?

[mickyboy]

Of course it was inclusive........what else would they possibly say?? This was a forgone conclusion. All we can do is wait for the results of the Canadian autopsy to hear the truth. You almost have to get a laugh out of the expertise of the Thais performing the autopsy . A poison so powerful it drops two healthy girls in their tracks, and yet they cannot find what it was.....

This is turning into an exact repeat of the Chiang Mai deaths. Absolutely pathetic.....

I think the government pretty well has the angles covered. Declare their own autopsy results as inconclusive. If the Canadian autopsy cannot find anything due to the fact that Thailand embalmed the body as well as decomposition, then case closed. If Canada comes up with a poison, then Thailand can declare it must have been done by the Portuguese men who have left. Case closed , and tourism can get back to normal...

Although given the deaths that have occurred in hotel rooms in Phi Phi, I am not sure why anyone in their right mind would go there..

if it was the drug rhyhipnol which you cannot trace this drug used to sedate person so they dont know they being raped or some thing happening to them a major overdose of this leave the affects of piosoning as they had but after 3 hours then no trace can be found as like viagra it leave the system not like coke or grass so maybe not a cover up just cant find

was not those girls in chang mai same thing im no expert but could this be the anwser and some guys wanted them for sex but went horrible wrong

[smedly]

Sad for the family that the cause of death couldn't be wrapped up quickly but unless the cause was an obvious toxin, infection..., I am not sure what other conclusion people would expect at 2 weeks from only a preliminary autopsy in what is likely going to be some kind of deadly toxin case.

2 weeks isn't even enough time to get a full toxicology report back and based on this report, it would appear they "might" not even have them cut them open as there is no mention of what organs failed or stomach content. Typically there would be some announcement of cause of death such as dehydration or a particular organ failure with unknown reasons for the failure. Hopefully in about a month the Canadian team who has performed a full autopsy will have determined the initial cause of death and they might even announce the resulting reason (dehydration, heart failure...) for death before then.

Again, just sad the family has to wait but am sure the coroner's office in Canada had prepared them that this will likely take some time to get any definitive answers.

Your other post denies saying this, but paragraph 2, sentence 1 says 2 weeks not enough time to get toxicology report back.

No, I said "full toxicology report back"

What is so hard for you to grasp. According the the Canadian Coroner's office ...

"The completion of autopsies can take hours or days, and the publication of the official report weeks or months,"

http://www.winnipegf...ampaign=/canada

Realize, I simply asked if you knew if Arsenic was an easy substance to detect because you seemed sure this was the cause of death and if it wasn't an easy thing to detect and took time then it is still a possibility they haven't got results back on this yet.

And please stop firing idiotic questions off to me (while ignoring my question) which I never in anyway shape or form claimed to have the answers.

NISA AND TTELISE - can you take your childish bickering to pm's please nobody wants to read it here and you are adding nothing of worth to this thread

[Jayman]

There has been no evidence mentioned of any sort of rape taking place. Please folks, have some respect for the family and stop with this nonsense.

[Soutpeel]

There has been no evidence mentioned of any sort of rape taking place. Please folks, have some respect for the family and stop with this nonsense.

And of course no evidence of:

Serial killers

Magic Mushrooms

Ebola

Suicide

Arsenic

etc etc...

But this doesnt stop TV finest sleuths either...

[lensta]

The results are inconclusive because the Thai's want them to be inconclusive. After all the tourism industry might suffer if the cause was found to be local incompetence or worse. Shocker!!!!

The bodies were embalmed in an attempt to prevent the true cause of death being known although tissue and hair samples may prove otherwise. Were the Canadians prevented from taking samples prior to embalming? If so, why?

The Portuguese guy is just a red herring. He is not Thai, enough said.

The cops here have no interest in the matter because there is no money in it for them. I say this because I know personally that the cops in Phuket have no interest in investigating anything in which they cannot make money.

Now all please bow down and make merit to the almighty God of money

Edit: my typing

Is it written anywhere that the bodies were embalmed? You can't do this without the expressed permission of the family, the deceased belong to the family and not the Thai authorities. You require permission to do anything (apart from a coronial autopsy) because of cultural and religous rites and as the family have requested an autopsy by canadian specialists I doubt very very much if they would have agreed to embalming.

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

[Arkady]

Clearly all lies. Ramathibodhi Hospital cannot have failed to detect such a strong poison in the bodies that were still intact at that stage. Now it is left to the Canadian pathologists who only had the embalmed bodies to work on, given IATA regulations about transportation of corpses.

Police have also admitted that they managed to identify the Portuguese witness or witnesses a day before he or they left Thailand. If so, why was Immigration not alerted to stop them from leaving the country, or are they trying to say they left the country illegally?

Another disgrace for Thailand's dishonest, corrupt and morally bankrupt police force.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Arkady

[lensta]

My problem with the 'they are doing this to protect tourism' is that I am a tourist, and I would be happy to visit Phi Phi if the authorities had issued a firm statement saying they suspect poisoning of the people who died a few years ago, and poisoning of the two Canadian girls this year, the offficial statement is they died of poisoning and that police are investigating if it was accident or a possible serial poisoner. I would be happy to visit that place as a tourist, just taking precautions to eat packaged food etc.

I would never visit a place where officials are trying to cover-up serial poisonings, because to me that is far more sinister location than than just one lone killer poisoning drinks or food. So to do as the officials have done, blame food poisoning and drug OD, both of which blame the victims to one extent or another, blame foreign mystery men, get the time wrong by 12 to 48 hours, etc.etc. then fail to locate a poison in autopsy, is far more sinister to me as a tourist than if they had just said (a few years ago and this year too) 'we suspect poisoning and we are investigating if it was deliberate'. That would reassure me as a tourist, far more than all this shady circumnavigating the issue.

The problem with your post is that you are thinking like a Farang.

[Arkady]

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

It is an IATA regulation and therefore a reasonable assumption that the corpses could not have been flown home otherwise. "IATA (a worldwide airline trade association) rules state that if moved from one country to another, a body should have an embalming certificate." http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/nov/28/expat-finance-health

[canuckamuck]

Here's hoping that Canada catches something that Thailand failed to cover up or eliminate.

Not that Thailand will be concerned about what a foreign agency says. They are busy washing their hands.

[Arkady]

My problem with the 'they are doing this to protect tourism' is that I am a tourist, and I would be happy to visit Phi Phi if the authorities had issued a firm statement saying they suspect poisoning of the people who died a few years ago, and poisoning of the two Canadian girls this year, the offficial statement is they died of poisoning and that police are investigating if it was accident or a possible serial poisoner. I would be happy to visit that place as a tourist, just taking precautions to eat packaged food etc.

I would never visit a place where officials are trying to cover-up serial poisonings, because to me that is far more sinister location than than just one lone killer poisoning drinks or food. So to do as the officials have done, blame food poisoning and drug OD, both of which blame the victims to one extent or another, blame foreign mystery men, get the time wrong by 12 to 48 hours, etc.etc. then fail to locate a poison in autopsy, is far more sinister to me as a tourist than if they had just said (a few years ago and this year too) 'we suspect poisoning and we are investigating if it was deliberate'. That would reassure me as a tourist, far more than all this shady circumnavigating the issue.

The problem with your post is that you are thinking like a Farang.

They also have evidence that it works. Despite all the murders and mysterious deaths of tourists in Thailand, not to mention the stabbings, jet ski scams, dual pricing etc, more and more keep coming to be ripped off, assaulted and murdered. Tourists continued to stay in the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai right up to the point that the wrecking crew started work recently, despite the multiple mysterious deaths covered up there. No doubt they will also stay at the new hotel to be built there that will probably have the same management and use the same pest control service.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Arkady

[Arkady]

Here's hoping that Canada catches something that Thailand failed to cover up or eliminate.

Not that Thailand will be concerned about what a foreign agency says. They are busy washing their hands.

They will say the foreign pathologists have no credibility and are biased.

[lensta]

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

It is an IATA regulation and therefore a reasonable assumption that the corpses could not have been flown home otherwise. "IATA (a worldwide airline trade association) rules state that if moved from one country to another, a body should have an embalming certificate." http://www.guardian....-finance-health

Ok, it is reasonable to assume this is the case, but, does anyone know this for certain.

[metisdead]

Overly derogatory and inflammatory posts have been removed.

[shocky2004]

What i find really strange in all of this is that it all happened outside of Bangkok.

I did some research, and tried to find some similar case in Bangkok, and it never happened (Or almost never...) in a city where there's 10 millions people...

Can someone explain me why does it happen up north or in some islands but never in Bangkok? Is it pure concidence or ?

And how come all those that died (Beside the guy in couple) they're all womans

Edited June 29, 2012 by shocky2004

[Chopperboy]

I have been informed by someone working in hotel management, for a major chain, that when they treat for bed bugs, they close the room for about 3 months, to avoid any chance of accidental poisoning of guests using the beds afterwards.

When technical chlorpyrifos (Chiangmai bed bug spray) was fed to dogs at doses of 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 1 and 3 mg/kg/day for 2 years, increased liver weight occurred at 3.0 mg/kg. Signs of cholinesterase inhibition occurred at 1 mg/kg. Rats and mice given technical chlorpyrifos in the diet for 104 weeks showed no adverse effects other than cholinesterase inhibition.

Its a common USA pesticide since the 60's - unless the ingested quantity is high its not poisonous.

[waza]

I guess one couldnt rule out an Anaphylaxis. I read of a Swede who died from Anaphylaxic shock after eating a spoonfull of somtam with fermented crab.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphylaxis

[Chopperboy]

What i find really strange in all of this is that it all happened outside of Bangkok.

I did some research, and tried to find some similar case in Bangkok, and it never happened (Or almost never...) in a city where there's 10 millions people...

Can someone explain me why does it happen up north or in some islands but never in Bangkok? Is it pure concidence or ?

And how come all those that died (Beside the guy in couple) they're all womans

IF these things are caused by plant based poisons it would take local knowledge and easy availability. It could be the case that City dwellers lack both knowledge and access.

[pauljones]

It's unanamous, nobody trusts the police.

A well deserved reputation.

Sad but true.

[softgeorge]

The results are inconclusive because the Thai's want them to be inconclusive. After all the tourism industry might suffer if the cause was found to be local incompetence or worse. Shocker!!!!

The bodies were embalmed in an attempt to prevent the true cause of death being known although tissue and hair samples may prove otherwise. Were the Canadians prevented from taking samples prior to embalming? If so, why?

The Portuguese guy is just a red herring. He is not Thai, enough said.

The cops here have no interest in the matter because there is no money in it for them. I say this because I know personally that the cops in Phuket have no interest in investigating anything in which they cannot make money.

Now all please bow down and make merit to the almighty God of money

Edit: my typing

Is it written anywhere that the bodies were embalmed? You can't do this without the expressed permission of the family, the deceased belong to the family and not the Thai authorities. You require permission to do anything (apart from a coronial autopsy) because of cultural and religous rites and as the family have requested an autopsy by canadian specialists I doubt very very much if they would have agreed to embalming.

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

All it takes is one (1) person to throw in a red herring, some will see it and say, "Oh yea that's a good one I will run with that rumour." After about 2 pages a percentage of people on here will start to believe it.

It has not been reported anywhere that the girls were embalmed, it is a silly little rumour started by someone way back in this topic who has no idea.

[canuckamuck]

The results are inconclusive because the Thai's want them to be inconclusive. After all the tourism industry might suffer if the cause was found to be local incompetence or worse. Shocker!!!!

The bodies were embalmed in an attempt to prevent the true cause of death being known although tissue and hair samples may prove otherwise. Were the Canadians prevented from taking samples prior to embalming? If so, why?

The Portuguese guy is just a red herring. He is not Thai, enough said.

The cops here have no interest in the matter because there is no money in it for them. I say this because I know personally that the cops in Phuket have no interest in investigating anything in which they cannot make money.

Now all please bow down and make merit to the almighty God of money

Edit: my typing

Is it written anywhere that the bodies were embalmed? You can't do this without the expressed permission of the family, the deceased belong to the family and not the Thai authorities. You require permission to do anything (apart from a coronial autopsy) because of cultural and religous rites and as the family have requested an autopsy by canadian specialists I doubt very very much if they would have agreed to embalming.

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

All it takes is one (1) person to throw in a red herring, some will see it and say, "Oh yea that's a good one I will run with that rumour." After about 2 pages a percentage of people on here will start to believe it.

It has not been reported anywhere that the girls were embalmed, it is a silly little rumour started by someone way back in this topic who has no idea.

I read the report discussing embalming, but as they keep opening new threads on this subject i am reluctant to go searching for it.

Apparently it is legally required.

[KhunMichael]

Let's make a simple summary: The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok is not able to find the cause of death of the two girls, despite the presence of clear external signs of poisioning. This is a acknowledgment of their professional incompetence. I hope their canadian "colleagues" will find the cause of death and enlarge the loss of face of these incompetent "forensic specialists".

[softgeorge]

@canuckamuck

You are quite right my friend, embalming is a legal requirement if a body is being transported from country to country. I have learnt something today and stand corrected. I also learnt the organs are placed into an embalming fluid during autopsy and before being replaced.

Well I guess people on here can stop having a go at the Thais for following legal requirements.

Google really is my friend.

Edited June 29, 2012 by softgeorge

[Ferangled]

Considering all the earlier conspiracy theories revolving around a police cover up I think the findings, or rather lack there of, "No [illicit] drugs were found in their systems and there were no signs of what may have caused their deaths.", suggests they are not trying to hide anything.

I just can't see that they would deliberately make themselves come across so clueless in such a high profile case. The fact that no illicit drugs were found removes the suggested police favourite "scape goats" eg. mushrooms, od on recreational drugs etc

Unfortunately it seems they are now left clutching at straws and coming across as totally incompetent on an international scale. Had they found evidence of poisoning, whether by foul play or accidental incompetent act by another party, I don't see how it hurts Tourism, any more than it is being currently, to come public with this, rather than the current display of total inability to prevent similar future cases by not finding a definite cause in this one.

Surely that would be the best result for Thai Tourism/ Police, for them to have been able come out and said "definite evidence of such and such poison, indicating accidental death due to pesticide"?

I just hope that such extreme symptoms, leading to not one but two simultaneous tragic deaths, would leave some trace and that in despite of any negative factors the Canadian autopsy will be able to turn up something that the Thai's haven't.

I'm sure it would be of little consolation to their family but might at least provide them some possibility of closure.

[catweazle]

This all is very sad, but to be honest, I did not expect anything else than inconclusive results, since the whole event was a big investigative mess from the very start. I.e. the portuguese guys should have been on a black list immediately and banned from leaving the country, then the delay from death until discovery, embalming, etc... The similarity to the Chiangmai based hotel death cases is striking.

If one looks at the amounts of dangerous substances dealt over the counter here in Thailand and how they are handled, I just wonder that relatively "few" incidents happen. Given the intense level of carelessness locals show when dealing with poisons, fertilizers, insecticides, etc. people should be dropping dead like flies on a daily basis all over Thailand. Instead of cutting grass, most use a kind of Agent Orange solution that is sprayed onto the plants with a cheap plastic backpack pump of course while NOT wearing a gas mask... If you see huge areas of brown, burned grass, then you are looking at a field that just has been sprayed, because the owner was just to lazy to mow it with a machine. Great for the ground water quality! Congratulations!!!

I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the parents of these beautiful girls and hope that they will find closure. The biggest gift they have received was certainly the nice letter Noemi and Audrey did send their parents just shortly before that tragedy, thanking them for being great parents and bringing them up in love and with great care, teaching them proper values and for letting them follow up on their passion which was travelling.

I experienced something very similar but vice/versa when I lost both of my parents in the 2004 Tsunami while I almost died as well. One of my greatest comforts in that tragedy was the fact that a few years before I had sent a letter of similar content to my parents, thanking them for everything and telling them that I could not have wished for a better mom or a better dad. In addition, we had said it all before they died. There were no things left unsaid and we hugged and kissed that very morning, just two hours before the Tsunami struck. Little things make a huge difference! Thus I hope that Mr. Belanger and his wife will find closure and comfort in those BIG "little things" in case the cause of death of Noemi and Audrey will never be solved. Wish I could give them a hug right now and exchange stories in person. It might help...

"Mr. and Mrs. Belanger, I am very sorry for your loss and hope that you all will be reunited in heaven, finding out that the physical death is not the end of our existance. There is more to life than what we can see, feel and hear. I know it, since I already have been there - half way - and back!"

Yours,

Catweazle

[farang9]

In Todays Sydney Morning Herald :

THE Australian government has called on Thai authorities to clamp down on violence, extortion and scams against foreign tourists on the resort island of Phuket.

The call comes after the June 20 stabbing murder of 60-year-old Michelle Smith by a bag-snatcher. Australia's ambassador to Thailand, James Wise, yesterday flew in from Bangkok to meet provincial leaders and senior police.

There have been concerted attempts by honorary consuls from countries including Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain to ensure a crackdown on thugs and organised criminal rip-offs.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.a...l#ixzz1zCNd5sxK

Edited June 30, 2012 by metisdead
: Edited to comply with fair use policy.

[ttelise]

Considering all the earlier conspiracy theories revolving around a police cover up I think the findings, or rather lack there of, "No [illicit] drugs were found in their systems and there were no signs of what may have caused their deaths.", suggests they are not trying to hide anything.

I just can't see that they would deliberately make themselves come across so clueless in such a high profile case. The fact that no illicit drugs were found removes the suggested police favourite "scape goats" eg. mushrooms, od on recreational drugs etc

Unfortunately it seems they are now left clutching at straws and coming across as totally incompetent on an international scale. Had they found evidence of poisoning, whether by foul play or accidental incompetent act by another party, I don't see how it hurts Tourism, any more than it is being currently, to come public with this, rather than the current display of total inability to prevent similar future cases by not finding a definite cause in this one.

Surely that would be the best result for Thai Tourism/ Police, for them to have been able come out and said "definite evidence of such and such poison, indicating accidental death due to pesticide"?

I just hope that such extreme symptoms, leading to not one but two simultaneous tragic deaths, would leave some trace and that in despite of any negative factors the Canadian autopsy will be able to turn up something that the Thai's haven't.

I'm sure it would be of little consolation to their family but might at least provide them some possibility of closure.

Okay, whatever. Not finding cause of death of two young healthy 20 something year old girls is completely unheard of except in places like Thailand with investigators like Thai authories.

Nothing is deliberate except their utter indifference to the well being of foreign travels and utter indifference to loss of foreign life, and perhaps Thais also . . . maybe we just don't hear about Thai deaths as this BS is acceptable to Thais.

It is almost like they just don't want to be bothered with investigating anything that could be a crime UNLESS someone offers a bribe/reward.

I am sure the family would have preffered to have the Thai authorities act like they cared as opposed to act as if they were trying to conceal something and did practically nothing to preserve evidence and the integrity of the possible crime scene.

[Nisa]

There may be health laws related to embalming and flights or specifically bringing a body into another country but if not, this would have had to be requested from the Canadian Embassy as it would be completely against protocol.

There is really no way they could have stopped the two men from leaving as they left the same day the bodies were discovered and no matter what one might thing should be done, investigations just don't happen this quickly anywhere in a death with no signs of foul play and where a video needs to be viewed and the people in the video identified.

There was never any mention of the police attributing the cause of death to ibuprofen regardless of how many people want to think this because it was stated there were numerous over the counter drugs in the room including ibuprofen which is not uncommon to cause stomach bleeding (especially when drinking). Note there was was blood in their vomit and might be of interest because the blood could be a red herring in terms of death. The ibuprofen and OTC drugs could have also been an indication that they may have been suffering symptoms earlier but the whole thing may have simply been brought up because a reporter asked if drugs were found in the room and which type and if they could be related. Certainly there was NEVER any claim or even hint by police this was the cause of death and the most earliest reports suspected some kind of toxin or poisoning.

The room was gone over by numerous crime and health agencies and was obviously sealed off as there were reports of numerous agencies examining the room and its contents for days after. There has been absolutely no reports of if the room has been reopened of if and when it will be or if anything in the room is left and wasn't taken away by investigators.

The preliminary autopsy performed was delayed because the Canadian Embassy requested it be brought to a specific hospital.

The family in Canada has asked that medical information be kept confidential.

It is usual for police to release specific details about an ongoing investigation.

There has been absolutely nothing that can be pointed at that has been done by police that would indicate any concern of not letting facts come out because of fear it will hurt tourism. Two deaths in a hotel room, isn't good for tourism no matter how you play it but the worst possible way to play it is by not knowing especially given the deaths up North. According to many here, it could have easily been wrapped up by saying it was murder and grabbing some patsy off the street and beat him into confession then case closed and everybody moves on.

There is absolutely nothing to indicate that the police, medical examiner and various agencies involved have conspired together to cover anything up or form some conspiracy to cover anything up.

There is absolutely nothing unusual about not having autopsy results in a 2 weeks in a case that involves poison or drugs. The Coroner in Canada already has stated it may be months before they release a report which actually may not be able to tell the cause of death. Even in the highest of profile cases in the west such as Michael Jackson and Nicole Smith where drugs were suspected and there was a good idea of the drugs taken, it took months for the conclusive autopsy reports and cause of death.

Thailand is not as rich or advanced as places like Canada and the US or UK and it is idiotic to believe things can always happen as fast or as good as these places but just as idiotic to believe that the professionals in the medical examiners office the various health groups investigating this don't know what they are doing. Even in the deaths up North with soooo many international medical teams and organization involved, there wasn't a conclusive cause of death determined that tied the victims together.

It is actually not unheard of for exact cause of death every to be known. In fact, it is not even uncommon for causes of deaths to have unknown origins. Many causes of death are from heart failures or dehydration and other things without the cause of these problems being known. They almost certainly know what killed these girls just like they know what killed the people in Chiang Mai but what attributed or is to be blamed for these causes. Not much different than thinking about somebody dying from cancer ... sometimes they know what caused the cancer and sometimes they don't.

Yes, very freaky to have these hotel deaths occur after the mystery deaths up North but lets please try to stop some of the crazy assumptions and conspiracy theories and the faux superiority that we know more than the experts here.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Nisa

[annabel]

I too have wondered where this embalming story came from. I saw that a TV member mentioned it on another thread but I never saw any sort of official news report stating that the bodies were embalmed

It is an IATA regulation and therefore a reasonable assumption that the corpses could not have been flown home otherwise. "IATA (a worldwide airline trade association) rules state that if moved from one country to another, a body should have an embalming certificate." http://www.guardian....-finance-health

Ok, it is reasonable to assume this is the case, but, does anyone know this for certain.

Ok well I am not sure of the regulations now in 2012 but when I was living in Hong Kong in 1988 a colleague of mine died in a plane crash in Bangalore India at the young age of 24 and the body had to be embalmed in order for it to be brought back to the UK... unfortunately the embalming was not done properly and some liquid leaked on the way and at the transit point wherever it was ( don't remember where sorry ) the coffin / body was held back and had to be re embalmed and resealed ... those were the airline rules at the time ... don't know if they are the same now but that was what it was then..........