Farang Prince Dies In Thai Jail

[frogmo1]

I appreciate the comments to my post; however, I remain puzzled as to what went wrong with the decedent's bail request. Was it made improperly or did the judge who heard it (if it in fact was heard) have a legal or psychological reason for denying it? The workings of the Thai judiciary are of interest to me, but the press seems not to have any information to offer on this detail.

Not sure if the bail request was made, but even if it had been ,the court would have been compelled to deny the request.

The main problem in this instance is that by knowingly altering a visa, the visa was automatically made void. The court cannot grant bail knowing that the defendant has no legal right to be in the country.

Thanks Diet-Dog. I'm compelled to agree with your analysis--the poor sap simply wasn't bailable.

[TokyoT]

so knew he had extra formalities to deal with. Concerned that he would again missed his flight, he made the innocent mistake of forging his entry card document.

What incredibly biased writing! Would he have forged his "entry card" entering the USA or Europe?

Would agree on the incredibly biased writing bit – but do not agree that forging related to exit is anywhere near equivalent to forging related to entry: regardless of country.

I always find it funny how countries get bent about issues related to exit and use that as a reason to detain/ keep people in country longer. If there is a problem with a forged/changed exit document when someone shows up at the airport with a paid ticket, then black-ball them to prevent future entry but go ahead and let them leave that day. Why do countries always want to keep’em?

[percy2]

I always find it funny how countries get bent about issues related to exit and use that as a reason to detain/ keep people in country longer. If there is a problem with a forged/changed exit document when someone shows up at the airport with a paid ticket, then black-ball them to prevent future entry but go ahead and let them leave that day. Why do countries always want to keep’em?

Good point!

[TokyoT]

I appreciate the comments to my post; however, I remain puzzled as to what went wrong with the decedent's bail request. Was it made improperly or did the judge who heard it (if it in fact was heard) have a legal or psychological reason for denying it? The workings of the Thai judiciary are of interest to me, but the press seems not to have any information to offer on this detail.

Not sure if the bail request was made, but even if it had been ,the court would have been compelled to deny the request.

The main problem in this instance is that by knowingly altering a visa, the visa was automatically made void. The court cannot grant bail knowing that the defendant has no legal right to be in the country.

Thanks Diet-Dog. I'm compelled to agree with your analysis--the poor sap simply wasn't bailable.

Why detain someone who is attempting to leave and has no right to be in the country? They are attempting to leave, let them leave. Not like the crack staff at Thai immigration tracked down some nefarious criminal that was attempting to stay in Thailand for who knows how long. This chap was attempting to get out. Was at the airport with a paid ticket and everything. Let him leave. Anyone that shows up at the airport with a proper paid ticket, and their only crime is related to visa overstay, or visa date changes; then fine them, or black-ball them in regard to future entry, but get them on the plan and out of your country.

Perfect logic - you have no right to be here anymore, so we think we'll keep you longer.

"Here's your sign."

Had a mate once in Japan that had some problem/ issue related to an overstay. He did not consult with anyone, just went to the airport with a paid ticket back home, and they would not let him leave; they did not detain him either. He had to (on his own accord) make arrangements with the central immigration office in Tokyo to basically get permission to leave Japan. The process to sort out the overstay ended up keeping him in Japan for another 30 days. Had to get approval from immigration on date and flight for departure. Could have saved everyone a whole bunch of useless hassle had they simply fined or black-listed him and put him on the flight he had originally bought the ticket. And after all that he was back working in Japan by the end of the year.

With that being said obviously the best course of action is not to overstay in the first place.

Edited August 17, 2006 by TokyoT

[frogmo1]

I appreciate the comments to my post; however, I remain puzzled as to what went wrong with the decedent's bail request. Was it made improperly or did the judge who heard it (if it in fact was heard) have a legal or psychological reason for denying it? The workings of the Thai judiciary are of interest to me, but the press seems not to have any information to offer on this detail.

Not sure if the bail request was made, but even if it had been ,the court would have been compelled to deny the request.

The main problem in this instance is that by knowingly altering a visa, the visa was automatically made void. The court cannot grant bail knowing that the defendant has no legal right to be in the country.

Thanks Diet-Dog. I'm compelled to agree with your analysis--the poor sap simply wasn't bailable.

Why detain someone who is attempting to leave and has no right to be in the country? They are attempting to leave, let them leave. Not like the crack staff at Thai immigration tracked down some nefarious criminal that was attempting to stay in Thailand for who knows how long. This chap was attempting to get out. Was at the airport with a paid ticket and everything. Let him leave. Anyone that shows up at the airport with a proper paid ticket, and their only crime is related to visa overstay, or visa date changes; then fine them, or black-ball them in regard to future entry, but get them on the plan and out of your country.

Perfect logic - you have no right to be here anymore, so we think we'll keep you longer.

"Here's your sign."

Had a mate once in Japan that had some problem/ issue related to an overstay. He did not consult with anyone, just went to the airport with a paid ticket back home, and they would not let him leave; they did not detain him either. He had to (on his own accord) make arrangements with the central immigration office in Tokyo to basically get permission to leave Japan. The process to sort out the overstay ended up keeping him in Japan for another 30 days. Had to get approval from immigration on date and flight for departure. Could have saved everyone a whole bunch of useless hassle had they simply fined or black-listed him and put him on the flight he had originally bought the ticket. And after all that he was back working in Japan by the end of the year.

With that being said obviously the best course of action is not to overstay in the first place.

Should the penalty for altering a visa be the same as or proportionate to the overstay penalty? The guy who overstays essentially pleads guilty by presenting his/her/its unaltered documents to Immigration and is fined accordingly. This Liechtenstein-residing royal (and you have to wonder why he is residing there as Liechtenstein was not the country of his birth), however, thunbed his nose at Immigration (and the system of immigration laws) by presenting a document he personally knew he had altered. Seems to me that justifies a somewhat greater punishment--just what that should be apparently required a court hearing of some sort. Anyway, just random thoughts ...

[camerata]

Would agree on the incredibly biased writing bit – but do not agree that forging related to exit is anywhere near equivalent to forging related to entry: regardless of country.

Right. I meant to say "exiting" instead of entering. My point was I doubt he would alter a visa in the West. I certainly wouldn't.

I always find it funny how countries get bent about issues related to exit and use that as a reason to detain/ keep people in country longer. If there is a problem with a forged/changed exit document when someone shows up at the airport with a paid ticket, then black-ball them to prevent future entry but go ahead and let them leave that day. Why do countries always want to keep’em?

I think it's partly to create a hassle so they won't do the same thing again and in countries like Thailand it's considered that if someone would overstay a visa they might have done other illegal things such as illegal working without paying taxes.

Realistically, if countries didn't care about overstaying visas the whole visa system would eventually collapse.

[TokyoT]

Don't get me wrong countries can/should certainly care about overstays. But the punishment is generally fine and/or a blacklist period anyway. So why detain anyone? The hassle you create for them is setting the overstay fine/ blacklist period at a level to deter this type of action.

Sure I can see where forging deserves a more severe punishment than a basic overstay. So make the fine higher or the black-list (no re-entry) period longer for the forgery than for the basic overstay.

But lets face it with few exceptions Thailand wants to promote getting people to return and not turn people away. Detainment for visa issues when someone is attempting to leave just never made much sense to me.

Someone showing up at the airport attempting to leave is a different case than someone getting caught running around Thailand attempting to stay in country as long as possible. They are at the airport, ready to leave; fine them or black list them and send them on their way. You catch them running around Thailand doing who knows what with who knows who, then go ahead and detain them.

IMHO the key to the visa policy is on the entry end and not the exit end. Just like in many other things tight control over what you put in allows better results on what comes out. Someone screws up on the exit end make it harder for them to get back in again.

Edited August 17, 2006 by TokyoT

[Maestro]

Nothing on the Internet today about the body of Christoph von Hohenlohe having been flown to Marbella yesterday or today.

For those who may have been wondering what the death certificate says, it seems that it was issued already a week ago according to an article in the Italian paper “Corriere della Sera” dated 11 August.

***

“When I saw him he was already so weak that he could not even talk. He tried to lift an arm, that I recall, but he was not conscious at all; one could say that he was practically already in a coma. Mr. Christoff Hohenlohe arrived in here towards one in the afternoon on Saturday and remained only a few hours”. “In here”, says the director of the Medical Correctional Institution in Bangkok, John Lerwitworapong, and points to a row of big cells...

The death certificate indicates a “simultaneous collapse of several organs caused by septicemia” (i.e. an infection of the blood which can also be of bacterial origin) and an “accumulation of ketonic acids” (which attack the brain and multiply because of an excess of sugar in the blood). In other words: it was all the result of diabetes, a disease which Kiko did not check (even though it is specifically listed) on the form completed on the day he entered prison. “It could well be that he himself did not know that he was diabetic”, guesses Lerwitworapong, “it happens sometimes”...

How much time passed between the first moan until Kiko was brought to the prison hospital? Lerwitworapong opens his arms: “This, I do cannot know. I know that I was at home, a nurse called me for an urgent treatment of Mr. Cristoff. I live 30-45 minutes from here. When I arrived I found the patient in serious condition. We administered insulin because his blood sugar level was 600 whereas the normal level is little more than 100. When we had done everything we would with the means at our disposal, we alerted Nonthavej Hospital, here in front”. In the public hospital across the street, Kiko arrived in a desperate condition: coma, pneumonia, blood infection.

***

--------------

Maestro

Edited August 17, 2006 by maestro

[Inspector 2211]

Nothing on the Internet today about the body of Christoph von Hohenlohe having been flown to Marbella yesterday or today.

Yes, there was a brief note on orf.at and an even shorter one on derstandard.at

orf.at:

Christoph Prinz von Hohenlohe in Spanien beigesetzt

Zehn Tage nach seinem Tod in Thailand ist Christoph Prinz von Hohenlohe, ältester Sohn von Ira Prinzessin von Fürstenberg, in Marbella in Südspanien beigesetzt worden.

Der 49-Jährige war in Bangkok nach seiner Inhaftierung unter ungeklärten Umständen gestorben. Die Familie verlangte nach spanischen Pressestimmen von heute eine Untersuchung.

Der Prinz aus dem süddeutschen Adelsgeschlecht war in Thailand festgenommen worden, weil er angeblich mit einem gefälschten Visum ausreisen wollte. Im Gefängnis klagte er über Übelkeit und starb wenig später. In Marbella ist auch der Vater des Adligen, Alfonso Prinz von Hohenlohe, begraben, der vor drei Jahren in dem Badeort an der Costa del Sol gestorben war.

derstandard.at:

Christoph von Hohenlohe beigesetzt

Ältester Sohn von Ira von Fürstenberg starb unter ungeklärten Umständen in Gefängnis in Thailand

Marbella - Zehn Tage nach seinem Tod in Thailand ist Christoph von Hohenlohe, ältester Sohn von Ira Prinzessin von Fürstenberg, in Marbella in Südspanien beigesetzt worden.

Der 49-Jährige ist in Bangkok nach seiner Inhaftierung unter ungeklärten Umständen gestorben. Die Familie verlangte eine Untersuchung.

Christoph Prinz von Hohenlohe wurde in Thailand festgenommen, weil er mit einem gefälschten Visum ausreisen wollte. Im Gefängnis klagte er über Übelkeit und starb wenig später. (APA)

[austallia_1980]

Jesus, Thailand is a strange place.

[Maestro]

Yes, there was a brief note on orf.at and an even shorter one on derstandard.at

I don’t know what’s wrong with my Google search today but I cannot find the Internet links to those two articles. If you still have the links, would you kindly post them?

(Incidentally, as a general rule, for foreign-language, i.e. non-English, texts it is preferable to post only the link, not the entire article)

---------------

Maestro

[popshirt]

I am in the U.S. right now and I have seen nothing about this incident in newspapers or on the news here. Maybe not surprising as this country is quite insular but I would have thought the L.A. Times would have picked it up.

[Axel]

There's a small note in today's German language - Bild

(http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/leute/aktuell/2006/08/18/prinz-hohenlohe/prinz-hohenlohe-grab.html

They could not bury him, yet, as he was too big and the hearse did not fit into the grave.

[fruittbatt]

There's a small note in today's German language - Bild

(http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/leute/aktuell/2006/08/18/prinz-hohenlohe/prinz-hohenlohe-grab.html

They could not bury him, yet, as he was too big and the hearse did not fit into the grave.

Huh? Could you read that again...amazing visual image....Sorry, should not be flippant, and condolences to the man's family.

[Inspector 2211]

Yes, there was a brief note on orf.at and an even shorter one on derstandard.at

I don’t know what’s wrong with my Google search today but I cannot find the Internet links to those two articles. If you still have the links, would you kindly post them?

(Incidentally, as a general rule, for foreign-language, i.e. non-English, texts it is preferable to post only the link, not the entire article)

---------------

Maestro

Maestro, neither of these articles had a link.

Some sites work with a "session cookie", i.e. all you ever see is "derstandard.at" in the URL window of your browser, no matter where you are at the site.

While orf.at usually does have URLs, this short article didn't.

[lung]

still open ??

-------------

Part-time isle resident dies after Thai jailing

Royal intrigue: The sudden death of Prince Hohenlohe

By Leila Fujimori

[email protected]

Services were held today in Spain for a European prince and part-time Hawaii resident who died earlier this month after being held in a Bangkok jail for allegedly altering his expired visa to facilitate his return to Hawaii.

Jet setter Christoff "Kiko" Hohenlohe, 49, was heading back to Honolulu after a visit to Chiva-Som, a luxury spa in Thailand, to lose weight.

His Thai visa expired July 20, and Hohenlohe allegedly used a pen to change the date to July 29, the day he was to travel back to Hawaii, to avoid having to deal with immigration officials, friends said.

Immigration officials caught the alleged alteration and Hohenlohe was arrested on suspicion of forging documents, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

Hohenlohe was in a weakened state after a significant weight loss, collapsed and was left on the jail cell floor for four hours before being taken to a hospital Aug. 5, where he possibly suffered a stroke, said Gaddo Cardini, who accompanied Hohenlohe's mother to Thailand, where she saw him the day before his collapse.

Cardini, in a phone interview from Spain, said Hohenlohe was kept alive on a ventilator until he was pronounced dead Aug. 8.

Hohenlohe, a Liechtenstein national, descends from royalty on both sides. His mother is Princess Ira von Furstenberg, former sister-in-law of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, and daughter of a prince and a Fiat heiress. His father is Alfonso, prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Cardini said the Thai government apologized to his mother for what Cardini calls "such a stupid case" because it was a mistake. He said Hohenlohe's blood sugar was elevated and he had been given insulin. He also developed a lung infection and his kidneys were affected.

His mother wanted to bring his body to Switzerland for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, but it was not possible to bring his body out of the country without embalming him, Cardini said.

Cardini said he could have avoided the arrest had he paid a fine of $20 a day. Authorities held Hohenlohe without bail for five days before his collapse.

Friends and acquaintances in Hawaii were shocked and appalled by such a tragic end to a member of European royalty.

Hohenlohe was supposed to return Aug. 1 for a three-month stay in his Kahala apartment.

Margherita Parrent, president of Friends of Italy Society of Hawaii, said: "It's absolutely shocking to hear that he died and how he died. It's like a nightmare.

"To shave his head and throw him in a cell with 40 others, who knows what type of treatment he had," she said.

Hohenlohe, who has family in Italy, Spain and Germany, attended the society's functions, including its annual film festival.

Despite his royal bloodlines, Hohenlohe was "very low-key" about his heritage, Parrent said. "If you saw him walking around Honolulu, he didn't put on airs."

Hohenlohe had many friends in Honolulu, where he could go to the beach unrecognized. He had been coming to Hawaii for more than 10 years and usually came a few times a year, up to three months at a time, staying at a Kahala apartment, his friends said.

"He could have chosen to live anywhere, but he came to live here under the radar, away from the intense glare of publicity," Parrent said.

Lifelong friend Dialta Alliata Di Monte Reale characterized Hohenlohe as a man "who lived in a different world -- very courteous, very nice, without worries, kind of a character -- unique nowadays, childish if you wish, like a big boy.

"He was very young for his age, never worked," she said.

"It was a silly action that drove him to death," said Alliata, an Italian princess who lives in Makiki Heights and is Cardini's sister.

Alliata said Hohenlohe was a good public relations spokesman for Hawaii, and he had persuaded her to visit Hawaii, where she settled with her husband and five children.

"Hawaii was his second home, it was his base," she said.

---------------

http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/16/news/story04.html

---------------

[the pleiadian]

I came across this website about some weeks ago. This is my first posting. I personally met Prince Kiko one time a few years ago when I was staying in Fuengirola in Costa del Sol. The Hohenlohe family has huge estates in Marbella which is nearby.

The Hohenlohe family is treated like the Kaiser in Costa del Sol because they were fully responsible to turn and developed these areas especially Marbella into a world class super resort. The residents foreign or local in the Costa del Sol respect the Hohenlohe family.

I met Prince Kiko in a seaside restaurant in Fuengirola. I was introdeuced to him by my Norweigian friend who is a resident of Malaga and who knows Prince Kiko and his family well. Prince Kiko was very very polite and had a good sense of humour and treated us wine and lots of sea food dishes, and ended up he paid for all our bills. And also invited us to his estate for dinner the next day if we have time. But I did not go because I had other schedule.

When a friend from Germany e-mail me about this dreary incident some days ago, it made me really sick in my stomach for many days. Prince Kiko does not have to die in the stincking cell in Bangkok. Also I heard he was denied bail for this small minor offense that made me more sick. My Norweigian friend told me that he did it because Kiko has very bad impression of Thailand as being very corrupted and he was afraid the immigration would make so much trouble for him at the airport for being late one day for his visa and he would miss the flight to Japan then unto Honolulu again.

Kiko was a newbie in Thailand and he did not know that you can pay a fine at the airport and get out smoothly. He changed the date by a blue pen out of worry and his nervousness that he would miss his flight again and also out of his impression of Thai officials being very corrupted and would give him problems intentionally and he did it out of compulsion and really just wanted to return to Honolulu quickly.

A little misunderstanding on his part cost his life in Thailand. The family is so devasted about the senseless death of Kiko. The funeral in Marbella made news stories all over Europe but maybe Thailand is too shamed to carry this news on their own TV or newspaper.

The Hohenloe-Langenburg family do not like to use thir status and power. They are very humble, but in this case they might have made the fatal mistake. They did not realize how childish and rediculous the judicial system in Thailand. They were shocked in the first place that a minor offense like this landed Kiko in jail then shocked again for bail denied. They thought when the mother Ira came here with the family prestige everything would be fine. But the family again was totally shocked and unprepared for this dreadful nation's legal system and human rights.

The family had made a very critical mistake. Because of their humble atitude they did not ask the help of Prince Hans Adam of Lietchenstein which the Hohenloe family has good relation with. If they had asked his help in the first place, it is certain that just one phone call to Thailand would get him out.

The family at first was thinking legal action against Thailand. But they think it won't bring back Prince Kiko so they may drop it. But hope this case will teach a lesson to the dreadful Thai systems. This case was quite publicized in Europe and it is really hurting Thailand's image greatly.

Although I only met Prince Kiko breifly years ago, but I still feel very sick in stomach how can this kind of things happen even in the most uncivilized world like Thailand. Its just beyond belief. Condolences to the devasted Hohenloe family.

[Maestro]

Calling Krabi: does anyone in Krabi know the name of the luxury spa in Krabi at which Christoph von Hohenlohe stayed?

---------------

Maestro

[kamui]

As predicted the story is now making the headlines in the yellow press. In Germany the magazine "Bunte" runs it as cover story (sorry, no link available). It doesn't contain any new information, but carries images from BKK, from the jail, the hospital and of the family as well.

[sriracha john]

Any other updates? This was the latest I could find on the international level.

It would seem that Thailand has done an astoundingly above-average job of suppressing news releases locally. There's been nary a word since the initial few paragraphs 2 days after he died.

Aristocrats mourn

16 August 2006

MARBELLA — Christoph von Hohenlohe, a member of one of Europe's most illustrious aristocratic families was buried near Marbella on Wednesday after dying in mysterious circumstances in a Bangkok jail.

'Kiko' Von Hohenlohe, 49, was a prince and member of the Agnelli family, the powerful Italian industrial dynasty, died earlier this month at the hospital unit of the notorious Klongprem Central Prison.

His mother, Princess Ira von Fürstenburg, 66, a well-known European socialite, is demanding an autopsy and an investigation into her son's unexplained death.

Thai authorities have so far declined to open an inquiry.

Hospital sources are said to have suggested the playboy aristocrat died from a possible blood infection or insulin deprivation.

With a glittering array of European aristocrats attending the funeral, Von Hohenlohe was buried next to his father Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe near Marbella.

Alfonso von Hohenlohe was famous for turning the former fishing village of Marbella into a fashionable resort for a jet set of Hollywood actors and European aristocrats during the 1960s and 1970s.

His Marbella Club Hotel became a popular refuge from the paparazzi for the likes of Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Tony Curtis and Sean Connery.

European royals like the Duke of Windsor rubbed shoulders with Arab sheikhs and South American dictators.

Christoph Von Hohenlohe's grandparents on his mother's side were Prince Tassilo Egon Maria Karl George Leo von Fürstenburg oand Clara Agnelli, a Fiat heiress.

Von Hohenlohe was arrested and jailed in Bangkok in July 31 for falsifying documents.

Despite attempts to convince a judge he had not intended to commit a crime, he was sent to Klongprem jail which has been condemned by Amnesty International for its inhuman conditions.

With up to 40 prisoners to a cell, Von Hohenlohe's health deteriorated rapidly.

Though not a diabetic, his blood sugar levels were abnormally high just before he died.

He was denied bail twice.

A prison official confirmed Von Hohenlohe's death on 6 August.

- Expatica's Spanish News in English

-----------------------

The international press continue to apparently mistake the prison involved.

[sriracha john]

Calling Krabi: does anyone in Krabi know the name of the luxury spa in Krabi at which Christoph von Hohenlohe stayed?

---------------

Maestro

Chiva-Som is what I've seen mentioned, but then again, that's located in Hua Hin.

Edited August 21, 2006 by sriracha john

[Axel]

It is an unfortunate situation that this guy died in jail.

OTOH, not only in Thailand, authorities take it very serious if somebody tampers with official documentation. Try to falsify your immigration-data in the US or in Europe and see what happens.

I said it before, never <deleted> with immigration. The prince was well travelled and certainly aware of immigration - procedures around the world. Why on earth did he think Thailand would be different?

Besides of this, it was rather stupid to change the date by ball pen. The permission to stay for the passport holder was 14 days max, even the most inexperienced immigration official would wake up if anything different shown.

[joinme2leave]

austrian television news update 21 aug 06 - interview with Prince Hubertus von Hohenlohe.

His brother is in Malaga autopsy and they shall continue investigation. Rumours about suspicious needle injection marks on his body.

source: ORF, Thema, 21-8-06

[lung]

Rumours about suspicious needle injection marks on his body.

maybe someone was in need of "blue" blood

we will see in 9month if some claims they have a son from a farang"prince"

or something like this... ...it's thailand

Edited August 21, 2006 by lung

[Maestro]

austrian television news update 21 aug 06 - interview with Prince Hubertus von Hohenlohe.

For those reading German, here is the link to the TV station’s program announcement. Unfortunately, no video of the broadcast, nor a transcript of the interview.

Translation of an excerpt:

***

The result of an autopsy in Spain could bring new momentum into the affair. Hubertus Hohenlohe wants to investigate the death of his brother thoroughly and hold the authorities responsible.

***

---------------

Maestro

`

[bina]

something just clicked after re reading all this...

when under tremendous stress, older people can develop diabetes....

my MIL just found out that she is diabetic after a year of dealing with her dying husband, she finally tested a few months ago for symptoms that we thought were due to husband's fatal illness and subsequent death, ; all her doctors at the diabetes clinic claimed that they feel that stress/trauma was the trigger so maybe this happened with this guy also? like parkinson etc? just a minor but interesting point

[lung]

hey... UPDATE

-----

Govt called to probe death of Italian prince

----

The government is urged on Friday to provide full information on the death of an European aristocrat in a Bangkok jail last month.

Christoph von Hohenlohe, a prince and member of the Agnelli family, the powerful Italian industrial dynasty, died the hospital unit of the Bangkok Remand Prison on August 6. He was arrested on July 31 for forging travel documents.

Pracharaj Party deputy leader Pramuan Ruchanaseree, who said the government should be aware that lack of cooperation in providing information on the matter would affect foreign ties.

"Thai authorities should investigate the cause of the prince's death at the soonest. This will show respect to the prince and his family," he said yesterday.

Thai authorities have declined to comment, but hospital reports suggest von Hohenlohe died from a possible blood infection or lack of insulin.

His mother, Princess Ira von Furstenburg, has already demanded an autopsy.

Von Hohenlohe was arrested at Don Muang airport while trying to leave the country. He had failed to get a flight home to Hawaii before his visa ran out was delayed by three days. He changed the date on his arrival card in pen to save time on more paperwork, but it was spotted by immigration officials.

The Nation

----

[Steph1012]

Did I dream it this morning?

Am sure I read in the Bankok Post, or the Nation in the comedy section, that the Thai Prison minister issued a statement (unrelated to this incident) saying Thai Prisons were the best in the world!

He didn't say what at (that's if I didn't imagine it) and he didn't end it with the now to be expected "Thailand is to become a prison hub" statement.

Shocking all round but, as posted many times on many threads on many forums,

"DON'T SCREW AROUND WITH THAI OFFICIALDOM" Their paperwork is sacred to them and they take their duties very seriously.... unless they are being paid to look the other way!

[ColPyat]

Pracharaj Party deputy leader Pramuan Ruchanaseree, who said the government should be aware that lack of cooperation in providing information on the matter would affect foreign ties.

"Thai authorities should investigate the cause of the prince's death at the soonest. This will show respect to the prince and his family," he said yesterday.

Thai authorities have declined to comment, but hospital reports suggest von Hohenlohe died from a possible blood infection or lack of insulin.

His mother, Princess Ira von Furstenburg, has already demanded an autopsy.

Rather disgusting that a well known extreme right winger makes the tragic death of the prince part of his political agenda against the government. Very low. Not just the government has attempted to silence public inquiries into this case...

Not just the hospital report states that he died "from a lack of insulin" and a "blood infection" - the death certificate states clearly a cause of death: Multi organ failure because of septicsemia, severe pneunomia, and diabetic keto-acidoses.

An autopsy has been performed straight away, as is mandatory in cases such as these. In this case the autopsy has been performed in the Siriraj Hospital.

Inquiries have been made though, and so far it is clear that neither the prison system nor the hospitals are at fault. It is was a chain event of unlucky circumstances that started off with the prince having made a stupid mistake, a court that dealt with him in the inherent arrogance of the courts here (and that unfortunately was given recently far too much power...), a diabetes that neither the prince nor the prison authorities were aware of until it was too late.

These things happen, sadly. Unfortunately the authorities have not been very open with the information, which has given space to often outlandish rumors, spread by illinformed clowns, and now used by a rightwinger for his own agenda.

[ColPyat]

He was arrested on July 31 for forging travel documents.

The Nation should better check their facts. He was arrested at the 29th. He arrived at Bangkok Remand prison at the 31st.

Edited September 1, 2006 by ColPyat