Police suspect that dead Hong Kong tourist overdosed on beer in Phuket

[webfact]

Police suspect that dead Hong Kong tourist overdosed on beer in Phuket

PHUKET: -- Police suspect that a 29-year-old Hong Kong man who was found dead in a Patong hotel room yesterday afternoon most likely overdosed on beer.

Kathu police were notified at about 3pm by staff at the Mercure Patong hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200-Pee Rd that there was a dead Hong Kong tourist in room 648.

When police arrived to the scene, they found the dead man next to a case of beers (24 cans), but no sign of any struggle.

The brand of beer and the amount of cans consumed has not been disclosed, but police said they believe the man might have drank too much and went into shock as a result.

The corpse of the man, whose name is being withheld until his family have been notified, was transferred to Patong Hospital for an autopsy.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/police-suspect-that-dead-hong-kong-tourist-overdosed-on-beer-in-phuket-46515.php


-- Phuket News 2014-05-28

[retell]

Did'nt even know it was possible with beer , maybe he been drinking something else as well before.

anyway condolances to the ones left behind .

Too young to leave this earth

[Thai at Heart]

Oh really.....

[laurentbkk]

Is it possible to have over dose of beer ? as I dont drink I couldnt know ..... maybe he took some drugs also .. anyway too young to die , alone in a hotel room ..

[Thaddeus]

A good number of Asians have a very low tolerance for alcohol, wife of a friend only took one swig out of a bottle of Breezer and passed out a few seconds later.

RIP young man, too young.

[Torrens54]

Glad I don't drink Beer. I'm a confirmed WINE'O or at least I was till the prices "went through the roof" and now my wife has me on rations.

The poor guy from Hong Kong reminds me of a great Country Music track entitled, "Whiskey Lula bye." Worth a listen on Youtube if you feel so inclined.

[Zumteufel]

A good number of Asians have a very low tolerance for alcohol (...)

This. Many asians lack an enzyme necessary to break down alcohol. Alcohol poisoning sounds like the probably cause of death, even in beer.

[dotpoom]

Is it possible to have over dose of beer ? as I dont drink I couldnt know ..... maybe he took some drugs also .. anyway too young to die , alone in a hotel room ..

Absolutely....one can die from "Alcoholic Poisoning" simply after going on a binge or attempting to down a bottle of vodka or such like and this person was young. May he R.I.P.

[Eaglekott]

You can actually overdose your self and get in to chock and die by drinking to much water to fast. So it might not be a alcohol related death.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/

Edited May 28, 2014 by Eaglekott

[Utley]

Do you think that they use a computer program to randomly come up with explanations?

[Emster23]

Really sad. RIP. That said, it reminds me of WC Field's movie

henpecking wife: "you'll probably drown in a vat of whiskey!"

WC: "Death, where is thy sting?"

[Krataiboy]

they found the dead man next to a case of beers (24 cans), but no sign of any struggle.

Wow! Reckon I might have struggled to get through 24 cans of beer. . .

[saakura]

More likely something was mixed in one of the beer cans. I hope they will check and test each can and also do an autopsy to determine the root cause. Just too young to die.

[hidavey]

Must be Chang beer, it has pesticides in its ingredients.

[kingstonkid]

My sympathy's to the family. Not an easy way to go

Just wondering if he was a fan of George Thorogood

[Chainsaw]

Must be Chang beer, it has pesticides in its ingredients.

Really? What's your source of this fascinating piece of information?

RIP to the Hong Kong guy.

[simon43]

Chang beer has formaldahyde (spelling...) in it (the scientific name for embalming fluid), which...er.... no it's not a joking matter.

RIP

[leesgems]

Many people report headaches from Chang and I also have heard the formaldehyde level was unforgiving. Chang export may be OK but I do not accept even a free Chang regular

[Frank James]

Chang beer has formaldahyde (spelling...) in it (the scientific name for embalming fluid), which...er.... no it's not a joking matter.

RIP

I find this very hard to believe. Can you prove this?

[Guitar God]

Why would they add formaldahyde to Chang beer? I can't think of any benefits and I would guess that making or buying formaldahyde is more expensive than making beer.

It's like when McDonalds was accused of adding ground earthworms to their ground beef. They said no they didn't and anyway, earthworms cost more.

[ggt]

I do not believe it likely that one can overdose on beer alone...otherwise...I would be dead already...

[rebelplatoon]

Lots of beers here have high content of chemicals used as preservatives. Besides the alcohol they are also very heavy on your liver.

I ve seen the survey once. I think the order was:

1. Leo 2. Chang (normal) 3. Cheers 4. Singha 5. Archa

They already figured because the drink by dates in a hot country like this were in the range of:

1 year 8 months 6 months

That's packed in the boxes, sometimes in the sun!!!

I am not a drinker but Heineken has an expiry date of one month. Must tell you something.

I also think that German beer they sell in 7/11 should be ok, Can't get the name.

Edited May 28, 2014 by rebelplatoon

[leesgems]

I have no link and no proof, however, I basically never get a headache, have not had an aspirin since I was a teen, and Chang has given me a headache at least twice. Add that to numerous other persons I have talked to claiming that Chang gives them headaches and I don't need any more proof for myself. Several people later told me it has Formaldehyde in it but they could be wrong. I don't really need to know, Leo is only about a dime more expensive and if it were possible to OD on Leo I don't think I would be typing now. Cheers!

[johninbkk71]

Must be Chang beer, it has pesticides in its ingredients.

Urban myths raise their ignorant heads. Many parts of the world have lower health and safety rules, such as the USA

[Guitar God]

Found on the internet:

Beer Myth 8: The Thai beer Singha has formaldehyde in it

It seems widely believed that Singha is brewed with formaldehyde, as is Chang beer, San Miguel, Vietnamese 33, and Singapore's Tiger Beer. The most believable explanation for this one is that Singha is much more bitter and contains more alcohol than most lagers. When American or British expatriots and soldiers were drinking beer in Thailand, they got drunk much more quickly then they were used to, and it was much more bitter flavor then they were used to. To explain this it was suggested that it contained formaldehyde. Crazy.

That last bit is a kernel of truth (more on that later)... but it’s the only one. Of course there is no formaldehyde in Singha -- any more than there is formaldehyde in Chang, the other popular Thai beer, or the Philippines beer San Miguel, or the Vietnamese 33, or Singapore’s Tiger beer, all of which have also been rumored to contain formaldehyde. Think about that for a minute while we solidly dispose of the Singha rumor.

Some Chinese breweries have added formaldehyde to beer because it is an inexpensive clarifying agent but none of these beeers are exported. If you don't like formaldehyde in your beer, watch what you drink when you're in China, as far as Thai beer goes, it seems to be formaldehyde free.

If no other drugs were involved, the most likely explanation is, as mentioned previously, his body lacked the enzyme which breaks down alcohol and he drank too much too fast.

[wilgoster]

check it out. none of these my-chemical-beer claims are sourced. What does that mean? beer writing here likely has a high concentration of whacky-doodle. I really wanted to write my own wacky-doodle, but the previous contributors are way too good. I'll just whistle off-side instead (the fate of mediocrity)

[MantisMan]

RIP Hong Konger!

I'm in Hong Kong now.

I now men like their brew and like to drink with others but seldom do they drink alone, much less 24 cans.

Edited May 28, 2014 by MantisMan

[kunnatee]

As Eaglekott said, if there are no other factors involved, it's very likely to be the amount of water which was responsible for the death, not the alcohol or anything else.

But the media prefer sensational headlines to thoughful articles.

Often you'll read that "X did this while on drugs". But if you try to really know what was going on, you'll notice, hidden among the lines, that the amount of drugs present in the culprit's body was down to just traces, showing that they had been taken long before and were not active anymore.

But apparently, "death by beer" sells more than "death by water"

[BudRight]

Must be Chang beer, it has pesticides in its ingredients.

Urban myths raise their ignorant heads. Many parts of the world have lower health and safety rules, such as the USA

That is total <deleted> bullshit.

[Thaddeus]

I have no link and no proof, however, I basically never get a headache, have not had an aspirin since I was a teen, and Chang has given me a headache at least twice. Add that to numerous other persons I have talked to claiming that Chang gives them headaches and I don't need any more proof for myself. Several people later told me it has Formaldehyde in it but they could be wrong. I don't really need to know, Leo is only about a dime more expensive and if it were possible to OD on Leo I don't think I would be typing now. Cheers!

Do you feel comfortable specifying which beer you would rather OD on in a thread were some unfortunate did leave this world.

Have some sympathy for heavens sake, the poor lads family may read this.