Three Expats Found Dead In Phuket

[Just1Voice]

Anyone want to bet me a beer that the autopsy on the American woman discovers traces of DEET?

Even if it does, my guess is they'll blame it on something else in an effort to save face.

[yourauntbob]

24 year old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway...not suspicious say police !!!!!!

First thing I thought, and then i remembered in Phuket it is common

[maxman71]

I lived on Nanai Road my first year in Thailand back in 2005/2006, before relocating to outside BKK. Even back then, when economic times were considered much better than currently, I came across several expats who were living on a hope and prayer of "making it" in LOS. From one guy who sold off his junked out used car to raise 2,000 quid to fund his new life in Thailand and owing 2+ years in back child support, to a Yank who thought he could live off his TGF's meager earnings from working in a coffee shop, there seems to be the belief among some newbies to LOS that somehow things will be different once they leave their numerous problems behind in their countries of origin.

Then there were some who were doing OK in Phuket who eventually fell prey to the temptations of drugs, spendthrift ways, and general unbridled debauchery.

With the current economic situation, the strengthening of the baht, etc., it is not a great surprise to me to read these sort of stories, as tragic as they may be.

[siamnatural]

Seems contrary to the earlier statistics in the recent article about Americans dieing in Thailand - but, OK - this is not exactly Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan or those other middle eastern countries that are experiencing rountine daily bombings, but it is somewhat alarming that these deaths in Thailand seem to be self inflicted in many cases here. I don't understand (especially) the young people coming here to Thailand to jump off buildings and/or hang themselves. Unfortunate and a sad day for society in general.

Wishing each of you good health, positive thoughts, and longevity.

[yourauntbob]

If I want free entertainment and a laugh at even the most mundane subjects, I have to count on the Thai Visa ex-pat forum to get a boost of humor. I don't know how you people do it. Now this is not an attack on anyone, but I wonder if you can retain this same sense of humor if one of your family members or friends dies in a similar fashion? But it's hilarious! I asked the Thai Visa editor if they were paying people to write funny comments but they replied that it just happens this way. Do any of you live in Phuket because it seems the Phuket News has no comments and much less humor--are all you funny people elsewhere in Thailand? Like Bangkok or Chiang Mai? Where do all these funny people live?

I dont think anyone is really laughing at the deceased. We are laughing at the poor journalism and police work. If you dont like it you can leave Thailand

FYI, I live in bkk

[Just1Voice]

When a Chap is found hanging in a doorway, it is usually caused by a failed unsuccessful attempt at suicide, frequently brought on by stress.

Not entirely true.. A certain farang going by the name of Michael Hutchins was found hanging in his hotel room - granted not in Thailand - caused by a failed attempt at auto-erotic asphyxiation...

Edited May 1, 2013 by Just1Voice

[starkey_rich]

What I find strange is that the PhuketWan is mentioned as it can usually only be refered to as " the news source that can not be named" on here.

[yourauntbob]

Let's try and solve the issue with maths. Thailand had 22 million foreign visitors per year in 2012, who stayed 9.19 days on average. A human life is 29,200 days long, 80 years, 9.19 days are 0.0315% of this figure. 0.0315% of 22 million people is 6,924. There is the number of moribund foreigners in Thailand in 2012. 19 per day.

Not bad but your numbers are skewed, most deaths are from older people but many foreigner deaths are much earlier.

So how many 20 somethings die on average in America or the EU. How many of the 22 million tourists are between 20-30, then what percentage of them die. Repeat for 30 somethings, 40 somethings....

I would like to make a hypothesis this would lead to a much higher death count in Thailand than in most western countries.

[kannot]

Bit of respect wouldn't go amiss methinks.

I agree. I think that admonition should extend to people who can't resist the urge to make all sorts of assumptions and wild speculation about cause of death and so forth.

I reserve to right to make fun of those posters, which is distinctly different from any intended disrespect towards the deceased or those who cared for them. Moreover not sure how a joke about the professor and the candlestick is any worse than yours about boyscouts...

Which is why I added another [post explaining why I said that, its a dig at the Police.

[SteeleJoe]

Which is why I added another [post explaining why I said that, its a dig at the Police.

OK, and how is that any different than making a joke about the professor and the candlestick?

[Halion]

Phuket is fast becoming the elephants graveyard for falang deaths whether by natural causes or misadventure.

No mater how you try to rationalize this issue the data is self evident that there are an alarming number of falang fatalaties on a per capita basis. Pattaya also has simelar statistics. The main element in common is the fact that both locations are holiday destination which rampantly support the sex industry and drug abuse and corruption is rife and the police are as bent as a nine bob note.

Slowly but surely they will kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

[Loptr]

He was one of three expats found dead overnight. Although not suspicious, their deaths still have to be explained, authorities said.

The other expats are a 24-year-old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway at a house in Moo 7, Saiyuan, Rawai, two hours earlier and a 29-year-old American woman found in a guesthouse in Rawai, southern Phuket, three hours later.

If hanging from a doorway is not suspicious I would hate to see what captain obvious does call suspicious!

And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?

Who writes this crap?

[Jimi007]

What I find strange is that the PhuketWan is mentioned as it can usually only be refered to as " the news source that can not be named" on here.

Ah, you didn't read the last sentence of rule 31! 31) Bangkok Post do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post publications will be deleted from the forum. Please note that this is a decision by the Bangkok Post, not by Thaivisa.com and any complaints or other issues concerning this rule should be directed to them. Quotes from and links to Phuketwan are also not allowed and will also be removed. In special cases forum Administrators or the news team may use these sources.

The rest of us aren't special!

[SteeleJoe]

If hanging from a doorway is not suspicious I would hate to see what captain obvious does call suspicious!

And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?

Who writes this crap?

* I believe it was "the authorities" that said they were not suspicious. Not sure the writer is to blame.

* I don't know why hanging from a doorways is inherently "suspicious" - is it less so if he is hanging from something else?

* 29 year olds die and obviously there is always a cause - just as there will be in this case whether we ever know the truth of it or not; the cause is not always murder just because it happened in Phuket. I don't think the conclusion has been reached (yet) that she "just drop(ed) dead".

Edited May 1, 2013 by SteeleJoe

[Just1Voice]

1) The death of the old man is not to be unexpected. 70, heavy smoker, breathing problems, probably athsmatic. As for the "girl friend" in bed beside him, there's really nothing to go on in regards to her age, how long they were together, etc., so nothing can really be said about that.

2) The apparent suicide by the Frenchman does raise something of a question. As noted by somene else, door frames here in LOS are encased in cement / concrete, which means he would have had to drive something into the wall, such as a good sized nail or small spike, to support his weight. The only exception to that, that I can think of, is if the guest house he was staying in was an older one which had wooden doorframes. If it was suicide, my question is why someone of that age would do something like that? Yes, I know it happens to others, both young and old, but it always makes me wonder about the emotional state of the young, and why they would even consider suicide.

3) As for the woman in the hotel, she was found dead, face down, after staying only 1 night, and her face was "very white". To my way of thinking, that has to be DEET, or some other form of bug killer that was used excessively. And, yes, shades of The Downtown Inn here in CNX come to mind. In her case, if I'm her family, I find a good Thai lawyer and sue the hell out of them. Probably wouldn't do much good, but the bad publicity it would generate for the guest house would definitely hurt them financialy.

For the old man: I hope you had a good life, where the good days outnumbered the bad ones. RIP

For the young Frenchman: Whatever emotional troubles you had are now gone, but so is your life. Very sad. May you find peace in the next one. RIP

For the young woman: It would appear that your life was cut short by the actions of others, over which you had no knowledge or control. RIP

[stevenl]

What I find strange is that the PhuketWan is mentioned as it can usually only be refered to as " the news source that can not be named" on here.

It is a quote from another paper, and that quote mentions Phuket Wan. So it is not Thai Visa directly that quotes from Phuket Wan.

Edited May 1, 2013 by stevenl

[Windy]

FYI, I live in bkk

In your dreams maybe, but if you possibly do, then it is time for you to leave, as falangs like you spoil it for the rest of us.

[stevenl]

If hanging from a doorway is not suspicious I would hate to see what captain obvious does call suspicious!

And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?

Who writes this crap?

* I believe it was "the authorities" that said they were not suspicious. Not sure the writer is to blame.

* I don't know why hanging from a doorways is inherently "suspicious" - is it less so if he is hanging from something else?

* 29 year olds die and obviously there is always a cause - just as there will be in this case whether we ever know the truth of it or not; the cause is not always murder just because it happened in Phuket. I don't think the conclusion has been reached (yet) that she "just drop(ed) dead".

No, the authorities did not say it was not suspicious, only the Maltese paper came to that conclusion.

[stevenl]

He was one of three expats found dead overnight. Although not suspicious, their deaths still have to be explained, authorities said.

>The other expats are a 24-year-old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway at a house in Moo 7, Saiyuan, Rawai, two hours earlier and a 29-year-old American woman found in a guesthouse in Rawai, southern Phuket, three hours later.

If hanging from a doorway is not suspicious I would hate to see what captain obvious does call suspicious!

And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?

Who writes this crap?

Maltese Times, the original article from Phuket Wan was worded much differently.

[SteeleJoe]

No, the authorities did not say it was not suspicious, only the Maltese paper came to that conclusion.

The "Times of Malta" (not the Maltese Times) said,

"He was one of three expats found dead overnight. Although not suspicious, their deaths still have to be explained, authorities said."

As far as I can tell, they are reporting (accurately or not) that the authorities said rather than reporting their own conclusions. I can only go by the OP and according to that, the writer is only reporting what he was told - which was my point. If there is evidence that he was NOT told that, then obviously he is to blame for more than just his conclusion.

Edited May 1, 2013 by SteeleJoe

[HarryMilton]

Gotta love Thailand...

Heavy smoker and asthmatic

...so he was a smelly, wheezing, phlegm coughing 70 year old who lived in a dinghy little guesthouse room...

but he still HAD A GIRLFRIEND...

Why should anyone NOT HAVE A GIRLFRIEND? The man was smelly was he...how do you know and what relevance if it is true does it have to anything?

Does that guesthouse provide small boats (dinghy)for guests to stay in?

[Jimi007]

No, the authorities did not say it was not suspicious, only the Maltese paper came to that conclusion.

<snip> I can only go by the OP and according to that, the writer is only reporting what he was told - which was my point. If there is evidence that he was NOT told that, then obviously he is to blame for more than just his conclusion.

Or you could read the follow post by webfact: http://www.thephuketnews.com/two-foreigners-found-dead-in-saiyuan-rd-phuket-39087.php And you could also do a Google search for Phuketwan and read the original article that was quoted in the OP.

[harber8]

24 year old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway...not suspicious say police !!!!!!

24 year old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway...not suspicious say police !!!!!!

If his hands were tied it would be suspicious. If they weren't it would almost definitely be suicide.

I know the police here are jokers but they're not completely stupid.

[harber8]

I'll help you.

People die, its the circle of life.

Yes but in Phuket it is an epidemic, They need to develop a vaccine for it

I would think it is epidemic all over the world?

Guess what? That doesn't help. I can read and I know what everyone posted. The quote function doesn't work properly so your quote isn't complete when I read it on an iPad and mine are not properly attributed.

Look at this one: I select quote and this is what you get...

By the way, I was employing sarcasm to agree with you, not at your expense. No need to be terse.

Turn you ipad the other way, it might help.

[SteeleJoe]

Or you could read the follow post by webfact: http://www.thephuketnews.com/two-foreigners-found-dead-in-saiyuan-rd-phuket-39087.php And you could also do a Google search for Phuketwan and read the original article that was quoted in the OP.

I'm in a hurry so maybe I missed it - what in that article contradicts the Times of Malta and their claim that the authorities said it was not suspicious (a premature conclusion what might think)?

[HarryMilton]

Something wrong with the report about the Frenchman as door frames are usually encased in the concrete wall & also generally not high enough to hang oneself.

Suppose that depends on how tall he was and how serious he was about taking his life.

[jimbeam1]

People die, its the circle of life.

Yes but in Phuket it is an epidemic, They need to develop a vaccine for it

I would think it is epidemic all over the world?

Yes and there is no known cure.

jb1

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed. Posts in bad taste have been removed as well.

[maidu]

He was one of three expats found dead overnight. Although not suspicious, their deaths still have to be explained, authorities said.

>The other expats are a 24-year-old Frenchman found hanging from a doorway at a house in Moo 7, Saiyuan, Rawai, two hours earlier and a 29-year-old American woman found in a guesthouse in Rawai, southern Phuket, three hours later.

If hanging from a doorway is not suspicious I would hate to see what captain obvious does call suspicious!

And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?

Who writes this crap?

Is there more news? ...updates? The two in their 20's sound suspicious indeed. "And how many 29 year old females just drop dead in a guesthouse?" asks Loptr. Answer: an alarming number, though it usually happens at Ko Phi Phi, which is close to Phuket.

At least four in the past 2 years. None of which were investigated adeptly. Expect the same sort of botched surly pseudo-investigation for the recent 29 yr. old woman. Particularly if there are any Thai guys or drugs involved. Wouldn't want to tarnish the burnished tourist image of Thailand, would we. And Thai authorities would definitely hate to see any Thai boys implicated/incriminated in the death of a young farang woman.

[LarryBird]

happens everywhere. Values and rule of law don't matter. Take your western ideology and throw it out the door ignorant farang!!