German man found dead in a bedroom in Rawai

[deepcell]

That stuff is lethal.

They make it themselves up in the North and its about 10 Baht for a small bottle .

Drink that regulary and you get a life expectancy of about three years .

I took one sip of it once and it was like paint thinner

A ever repeated myth and not true by any means.

What you see on the table is a commercial product sold in many shops.

Yes it tastes awful and it gave me a good heartburn when I tried it once.

But only the farang is stupid enough to drink it undiluted.

Some of my neighbours survived it much longer than 3 years.

They always dilute with water, "Thai wine"

It's as lethal as a daily dose of hard liquor/spirit/wodka.

It's a 40 percent ("80 proof"?) hard liquor from rice, not more not less.

My wife's father has been drinking half a bottle every day for 30 years,he is 71 years old now and has liver cancer but looks fit and still works in the fields and still drinks.

Yeah. Wife's father passed away 2 years ago at the age of 87 (strong man). He drank all his life that sh*t, and didn't die because that. also he loved to drink whiskey regularly.

[geisha]

83 foreigners died last day year eh !

[tigermonkey]

Amazing - if the German had decided to drink himself to death at home in Germany, cosuming cheap rot-gut schnapps, there would be no coverage in print or on-line. If perchance, it was mentioned, the comments would all be about the "stupid idiot".

In Thailand, it is big expat news, and the comments are all about the murdering. poisoning and thieving Thais. The German ? -- who nobody knew -- well he was a fine upstanding man, who was misled, deceived, swindled, poisoned, robbed and poisoned by the evil Thais, who are now being protected by the police.

This stuff is hilariously funny -- it should be on television.

[nuananddon]

Lao Cao is just another name for pure grain alcohol, all your alcoholic drinks start out as clear liquid after being distilled. My neighbor makes it and has a government permit posted right on the door. Theirs is made from rice mash. He told me once that the first liquid that comes out of the cooling tower is the highest percent and goes down as the mash is cooked down. That bottle on that mans table is really some rot gut stuff. My neighbor makes some damn fine moonshine. He'd make them ole rednecks at home mighty proud.

[AhFarangJa]

R.I.P. So sad to hear of another pointless loss of life. Here in Saudi we had a similar occurrence last week. 45 year old found on the sofa in the morning, empty bottle of Siddiq on the table. Just a waste....

[hottrader77]

Lao Kao is like poison, if he drinks that hardly surprised he is deceased same as the guy in Pattaya named 5 star died at 44 drinking Lao Kao. Sorry to hear another expat die this way.

could be made to look like poisoning from lao khao but it will be put down to an accident , check his bank balance and see if it has had large withdrawals

[Thechook]

What's going on, half a dozen foreigners dying each day.

[Bogbrush]

I haven't tried Lao Khao but have taken readily to Sang Som; there is a lot of internet advice about its only palatable with Red Bull or limes etc but I find it OK just with chilled water. Mind you, anyone who went through Rhodesia drinking their local version of whisky ( Dumbarton, I recall) could probably drink anything...RIP in any event to this poor sod, whatever the cause.

[NamKangMan]

Amazing - if the German had decided to drink himself to death at home in Germany, cosuming cheap rot-gut schnapps, there would be no coverage in print or on-line. If perchance, it was mentioned, the comments would all be about the "stupid idiot".

In Thailand, it is big expat news, and the comments are all about the murdering. poisoning and thieving Thais. The German ? -- who nobody knew -- well he was a fine upstanding man, who was misled, deceived, swindled, poisoned, robbed and poisoned by the evil Thais, who are now being protected by the police.

This stuff is hilariously funny -- it should be on television.

Interesting post.

I think it's tragic, not "hilariously funny."

I didn't know the guy, so I can't speak for his character, but what I do know is, rightly or wrongly, many western men start relationships with Thai women and end up losing their life savings.

Then, due to shame, embarrassment, financial difficulty, depression, lack of support services etc, decide to suicide. Hanging and balcony dives are chosen by many, but pills and alcohol are not uncommon. In this case, it's possible there was only alcohol involved.

Just on the point of suicide by pills and alcohol, balcony dives and hanging, it's not that difficult to stage these as a suicide.

So, whilst a "murdering, poisoning and thieving Thai" may not have forced this man to drink lao kao, is it not possible a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead to this man taking his life, and if not this man, what about the countless other suicides by western men, all across Thailand?

Edited February 13, 2016 by NamKangMan

[Mot Dang]

Lao Kao ? It will eventually kill you, no sweat.

In my village in the Buriram pan-handle, every man from 45 to 65 is dead. No BS ! You would never see so many widows in a village anywhere in the world. And once a month that all don their white mae chee cloths and off to the temple they go. No other social contact since hubbie died. Sad. All because of this poison. No liquor curfews here, corner shops sell it 12 hours a day. If people can't afford a bottle, they buy a shot glass full. No point going to the cops, because these Mum and Dad shops are well protected, the cops are the local cops. Someones son, cousin or nephew.

This is the primary number one killer in rural Thailand, forget about road accidents and the like. Once, 20 to 30 years ago, the use of Lao Kao was controlled by the then social graces of Thai culture. Not anymore. "Thainess took over".

Lao Kao (and the wealthy families that own the distillers) are just waiting for the next generation of young men to come along, pockets-a-jingling.

[tigermonkey]

Amazing - if the German had decided to drink himself to death at home in Germany, cosuming cheap rot-gut schnapps, there would be no coverage in print or on-line. If perchance, it was mentioned, the comments would all be about the "stupid idiot".

In Thailand, it is big expat news, and the comments are all about the murdering. poisoning and thieving Thais. The German ? -- who nobody knew -- well he was a fine upstanding man, who was misled, deceived, swindled, poisoned, robbed and poisoned by the evil Thais, who are now being protected by the police.

This stuff is hilariously funny -- it should be on television.

Interesting post.

I think it's tragic, not "hilariously funny."

I didn't know the guy, so I can't speak for his character, but what I do know is, rightly or wrongly, many western men start relationships with Thai women and end up losing their life savings.

Then, due to shame, embarrassment, financial difficulty, depression, lack of support services etc, decide to suicide. Hanging and balcony dives are chosen by many, but pills and alcohol are not uncommon. In this case, it's possible there was only alcohol involved.

Just on the point of suicide by pills and alcohol, balcony dives and hanging, it's not that difficult to stage these as a suicide.

So, whilst a "murdering, poisoning and thieving Thai" may not have forced this man to drink lao kao, is it not possible a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead to this man taking his life, and if not this man, what about the countless other suicides by western men, all across Thailand?

I agree the death is tragic, whatever the background or cause --- it is the TV comments that are "hilariously funny "

Unfortunately, you have reinforced my comments. I agree that "a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead (sic) to this man taking his life". However, there seems to be no consideration that this event might have been precipitated by events in Germany - family death, financial disaster, abandonment by German wife/mistress, accusations of crime , etc, or that he may have had a terminal illness or that he may have simply had too much to drink and died of alcohol poisoning.

I agree that a Thai motivation is possible, if indeed it was a suicide, but any other motivation is equally possible. Again, I say that the TV fixation on the 'evils' of the Thai people is hilarious --- but then perhaps that is also tragic !

[Snackbar]

Hahahah are you mad?

A journalist has to file a 150-300 word report to get paid.

To write 'a story' an angle makes for good copy. No angle and the copy is banal.

The presence of local cheap alcohol and an unexpected death of yet another tourist is the story. Isn't it?

[rexaco123]

Lao Kao ? It will eventually kill you, no sweat.

In my village in the Buriram pan-handle, every man from 45 to 65 is dead. No BS ! You would never see so many widows in a village anywhere in the world. And once a month that all don their white mae chee cloths and off to the temple they go. No other social contact since hubbie died. Sad. All because of this poison. No liquor curfews here, corner shops sell it 12 hours a day. If people can't afford a bottle, they buy a shot glass full. No point going to the cops, because these Mum and Dad shops are well protected, the cops are the local cops. Someones son, cousin or nephew.

This is the primary number one killer in rural Thailand, forget about road accidents and the like. Once, 20 to 30 years ago, the use of Lao Kao was controlled by the then social graces of Thai culture. Not anymore. "Thainess took over".

Lao Kao (and the wealthy families that own the distillers) are just waiting for the next generation of young men to come along, pockets-a-jingling.

The stuff out of the distilleries isn't near as bad as the backwoods moonshine that sells for 50 baht/750ml. Distilleries can control the percentage of "poisonols" (alcohols other than pure ethanol) in their product. Ethanol is poisonous, too, but the other *.ols are even worse.

I think another big killer in rural Thailand is the chemicals pushed on farmers for their crops. Many deaths from cancer in my rural village.

[NamKangMan]

Amazing - if the German had decided to drink himself to death at home in Germany, cosuming cheap rot-gut schnapps, there would be no coverage in print or on-line. If perchance, it was mentioned, the comments would all be about the "stupid idiot".

In Thailand, it is big expat news, and the comments are all about the murdering. poisoning and thieving Thais. The German ? -- who nobody knew -- well he was a fine upstanding man, who was misled, deceived, swindled, poisoned, robbed and poisoned by the evil Thais, who are now being protected by the police.

This stuff is hilariously funny -- it should be on television.

Interesting post.

I think it's tragic, not "hilariously funny."

I didn't know the guy, so I can't speak for his character, but what I do know is, rightly or wrongly, many western men start relationships with Thai women and end up losing their life savings.

Then, due to shame, embarrassment, financial difficulty, depression, lack of support services etc, decide to suicide. Hanging and balcony dives are chosen by many, but pills and alcohol are not uncommon. In this case, it's possible there was only alcohol involved.

Just on the point of suicide by pills and alcohol, balcony dives and hanging, it's not that difficult to stage these as a suicide.

So, whilst a "murdering, poisoning and thieving Thai" may not have forced this man to drink lao kao, is it not possible a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead to this man taking his life, and if not this man, what about the countless other suicides by western men, all across Thailand?

I agree the death is tragic, whatever the background or cause --- it is the TV comments that are "hilariously funny "

Unfortunately, you have reinforced my comments. I agree that "a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead (sic) to this man taking his life". However, there seems to be no consideration that this event might have been precipitated by events in Germany - family death, financial disaster, abandonment by German wife/mistress, accusations of crime , etc, or that he may have had a terminal illness or that he may have simply had too much to drink and died of alcohol poisoning.

I agree that a Thai motivation is possible, if indeed it was a suicide, but any other motivation is equally possible. Again, I say that the TV fixation on the 'evils' of the Thai people is hilarious --- but then perhaps that is also tragic !

So, all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country - I don't think so.

Sure, some will suicide for the reasons you mention, no argument from me about that, but I think you will find the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women.

Now, are they "stupid idiots" for losing their life savings in such a manner - yes.

Should they kill themselves over it - no.

However, depression overtakes reason, and many suicide.

All the while, a Thai family is settling into their new house, that sits on a new farm, and learning to drive a new car to their new shop in town, whilst their daughter in Phuket says to them, "I have a new boyfriend now,"

Do these girls fire the gun - no. They just load the bullets.

[NamKangMan]

Lao Kao ? It will eventually kill you, no sweat.

In my village in the Buriram pan-handle, every man from 45 to 65 is dead. No BS ! You would never see so many widows in a village anywhere in the world. And once a month that all don their white mae chee cloths and off to the temple they go. No other social contact since hubbie died. Sad. All because of this poison. No liquor curfews here, corner shops sell it 12 hours a day. If people can't afford a bottle, they buy a shot glass full. No point going to the cops, because these Mum and Dad shops are well protected, the cops are the local cops. Someones son, cousin or nephew.

This is the primary number one killer in rural Thailand, forget about road accidents and the like. Once, 20 to 30 years ago, the use of Lao Kao was controlled by the then social graces of Thai culture. Not anymore. "Thainess took over".

Lao Kao (and the wealthy families that own the distillers) are just waiting for the next generation of young men to come along, pockets-a-jingling.

The stuff out of the distilleries isn't near as bad as the backwoods moonshine that sells for 50 baht/750ml. Distilleries can control the percentage of "poisonols" (alcohols other than pure ethanol) in their product. Ethanol is poisonous, too, but the other *.ols are even worse.

I think another big killer in rural Thailand is the chemicals pushed on farmers for their crops. Many deaths from cancer in my rural village.

I was also going to mention the high rate of young male smokers in rural Thailand.

Many die of lung cancer at an early age.

[TheCruncher]

......I see 1 bottle.....and it looks placed there......

...nothing to say...case closed......

...nothing to check...nothing to investigate....

I see one desperate conspiracy theorist with a tin foil hat.

Case closed.

[springheeled jack]

in this case lao kao has got the better of this poor unfortunate fellow too much of this is guaranteed to damage your stomach and definitely your liver and I would say this is what killed him.

[MaeJoMTB]

That stuff is lethal.

They make it themselves up in the North and its about 10 Baht for a small bottle .

Drink that regulary and you get a life expectancy of about three years .

I took one sip of it once and it was like paint thinner

A ever repeated myth and not true by any means.

What you see on the table is a commercial product sold in many shops.

Yes it tastes awful and it gave me a good heartburn when I tried it once.

But only the farang is stupid enough to drink it undiluted.

Some of my neighbours survived it much longer than 3 years.

They always dilute with water, "Thai wine"

It's as lethal as a daily dose of hard liquor/spirit/wodka.

It's a 40 percent ("80 proof"?) hard liquor from rice, not more not less.

Yep, the stuff in the OP photo can be purchased in any 7-11.

I've had a bottle of the red label stuff myself ...... it's nasty.

And I've tried a bottle of the blue label ...... even worse.

And the homemade stuff ...... my village auntie runs the still.

Just as bad as the Blue label.

Drinking a bottle or two of spirits (of any sort) in one sitting can kill you.

It isn't ever a good idea.

Been a bad week for foreigners in Thailand!

Edited February 13, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[mcfish]

Don't know how you guys can be Round these isaan Hill billys drinking this stuff. I would last a week out there before disappearing on a bus or buffalo or whatever

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Mot Dang]

Lao Kao ? It will eventually kill you, no sweat.

In my village in the Buriram pan-handle, every man from 45 to 65 is dead. No BS ! You would never see so many widows in a village anywhere in the world. And once a month that all don their white mae chee cloths and off to the temple they go. No other social contact since hubbie died. Sad. All because of this poison. No liquor curfews here, corner shops sell it 12 hours a day. If people can't afford a bottle, they buy a shot glass full. No point going to the cops, because these Mum and Dad shops are well protected, the cops are the local cops. Someones son, cousin or nephew.

This is the primary number one killer in rural Thailand, forget about road accidents and the like. Once, 20 to 30 years ago, the use of Lao Kao was controlled by the then social graces of Thai culture. Not anymore. "Thainess took over".

Lao Kao (and the wealthy families that own the distillers) are just waiting for the next generation of young men to come along, pockets-a-jingling.

The stuff out of the distilleries isn't near as bad as the backwoods moonshine that sells for 50 baht/750ml. Distilleries can control the percentage of "poisonols" (alcohols other than pure ethanol) in their product. Ethanol is poisonous, too, but the other *.ols are even worse.

I think another big killer in rural Thailand is the chemicals pushed on farmers for their crops. Many deaths from cancer in my rural village.

I think that basically you are right. The substances that you are talking about that come from the fermentation process and then come over the still, are what we call "high and low boilers" . The most volatile. Apart from the ethanol you get chemical compounds called aldehydes and ketones. And in a higher proportion methanol.

The cleaner the fermentation (ie the exclusion of wild yeasts and molds and fungi), and the right length and cooling of the still will give you less of the above impurities. But they are still there, company distilled and labelled Lao Kao is still crap.

And of course the moonshine from the villages can be deadly. This is usually from the methanol content. I have a graduate diploma in Analytical Chemistry, and before I retired I asked a collegue to run some labelled Lao Kao through a GLC, and got some beautiful peaks.

Drink Lao Kow and everyday you are lowering your IQ, and doing damage to your liver.

I agree with you totally on the second point. I have seen quite a number of men over the years develop the shakes from exposure to these chemicals. They stir the chemicals into buckets using their bare hands for Christ sake. It is not so many years ago that Thailand stopped using DDT. The families don't like to talk about it.

One point, I refuse all my wife's advances to eat grass hoppers and such. I suspected very few would not be laced with your favorite chemical cocktail.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Mot Dang

[Shadychris]

What's going on, half a dozen foreigners dying each day.

Yes how very odd - whatever happened to immortality......

[LivinginKata]

So, all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country - I don't think so.

Sure, some will suicide for the reasons you mention, no argument from me about that, but I think you will find the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women.

Now, are they "stupid idiots" for losing their life savings in such a manner - yes.

Should they kill themselves over it - no.

However, depression overtakes reason, and many suicide.

All the while, a Thai family is settling into their new house, that sits on a new farm, and learning to drive a new car to their new shop in town, whilst their daughter in Phuket says to them, "I have a new boyfriend now,"

Do these girls fire the gun - no. They just load the bullets.

Provocative post NKM .... as usual. Your imagination is well fired up, but I will admit there is some anecedotal substance to your theory ...

[NamKangMan]

So, all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country - I don't think so.

Sure, some will suicide for the reasons you mention, no argument from me about that, but I think you will find the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women.

Now, are they "stupid idiots" for losing their life savings in such a manner - yes.

Should they kill themselves over it - no.

However, depression overtakes reason, and many suicide.

All the while, a Thai family is settling into their new house, that sits on a new farm, and learning to drive a new car to their new shop in town, whilst their daughter in Phuket says to them, "I have a new boyfriend now,"

Do these girls fire the gun - no. They just load the bullets.

Provocative post NKM .... as usual. Your imagination is well fired up, but I will admit there is some anecedotal substance to your theory ...

Yeah, just "some."

Would you care to comment on that "some anecdotal substance" LIK?

Why do you think so many western men suicide in Thailand?

[tigermonkey]

Amazing - if the German had decided to drink himself to death at home in Germany, cosuming cheap rot-gut schnapps, there would be no coverage in print or on-line. If perchance, it was mentioned, the comments would all be about the "stupid idiot".

In Thailand, it is big expat news, and the comments are all about the murdering. poisoning and thieving Thais. The German ? -- who nobody knew -- well he was a fine upstanding man, who was misled, deceived, swindled, poisoned, robbed and poisoned by the evil Thais, who are now being protected by the police.

This stuff is hilariously funny -- it should be on television.

Interesting post.

I think it's tragic, not "hilariously funny."

I didn't know the guy, so I can't speak for his character, but what I do know is, rightly or wrongly, many western men start relationships with Thai women and end up losing their life savings.

Then, due to shame, embarrassment, financial difficulty, depression, lack of support services etc, decide to suicide. Hanging and balcony dives are chosen by many, but pills and alcohol are not uncommon. In this case, it's possible there was only alcohol involved.

Just on the point of suicide by pills and alcohol, balcony dives and hanging, it's not that difficult to stage these as a suicide.

So, whilst a "murdering, poisoning and thieving Thai" may not have forced this man to drink lao kao, is it not possible a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead to this man taking his life, and if not this man, what about the countless other suicides by western men, all across Thailand?

I agree the death is tragic, whatever the background or cause --- it is the TV comments that are "hilariously funny "

Unfortunately, you have reinforced my comments. I agree that "a Thai women may have been the catalyst that set a chain of events in motion that lead (sic) to this man taking his life". However, there seems to be no consideration that this event might have been precipitated by events in Germany - family death, financial disaster, abandonment by German wife/mistress, accusations of crime , etc, or that he may have had a terminal illness or that he may have simply had too much to drink and died of alcohol poisoning.

I agree that a Thai motivation is possible, if indeed it was a suicide, but any other motivation is equally possible. Again, I say that the TV fixation on the 'evils' of the Thai people is hilarious --- but then perhaps that is also tragic !

So, all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country - I don't think so.

Sure, some will suicide for the reasons you mention, no argument from me about that, but I think you will find the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women.

Now, are they "stupid idiots" for losing their life savings in such a manner - yes.

Should they kill themselves over it - no.

However, depression overtakes reason, and many suicide.

All the while, a Thai family is settling into their new house, that sits on a new farm, and learning to drive a new car to their new shop in town, whilst their daughter in Phuket says to them, "I have a new boyfriend now,"

Do these girls fire the gun - no. They just load the bullets.

I in no manner said nor implied that "all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country". I merely asked for some rational thought instead of knee jerk Thai bashing. Please don;t lie about my posts !

However. I see that you you are a veteran, indoctrinated Thai basher. I have been in Thailand for many years, know many expats and many Thais, and I can honestly say that I personally Know of only one suspicious situation; the expat drowned while fishing on the Mekong with his FIL.

You can continue to believe that " the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women". I will continue to enjoy my years in Thailand, and enjoy laughing at the TV paranoia and Thai bashing.

Edited February 13, 2016 by tigermonkey

[mcfish]

Alcoholics! They <deleted>up every part of their lives, you really think it's guys losing money to the Mrs? Men get cleaned out around the planet but start again but it's the ones that were probably alcoholics to start with do the jumpy thingy

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[kovaltech]

Methanol poisoning has killed quite a few in Bali in recent times.

I'm sure many backpackers in Thailand have had lao kao in the "buckets" they drink, not to mention crushed up mosquito coils etc etc.

Lao Kao is one drink to stay away from.

Methanol and Ethanol...

one comes from wood alcohol, the other from sugar...

Methanol also comes in bad brewed ethanol as also in every alcoholic beverage is some methanol present...

Methanol is often used to "dilute" or make the brewage more cheaper...

The good news is: antidote for methanol poisening is... they keep you so drunk for the next week, at levels as much as 5 promille ... :-P

[mitos]

SPIRIT is Lao kao. That spirit must prohibition by Thai government.

[LivinginKata]

So, all these western men committing suicide in Thailand do so because of problems arising back in their home country - I don't think so.

Sure, some will suicide for the reasons you mention, no argument from me about that, but I think you will find the majority have been fleeced by a Thai women.

Now, are they "stupid idiots" for losing their life savings in such a manner - yes.

Should they kill themselves over it - no.

However, depression overtakes reason, and many suicide.

All the while, a Thai family is settling into their new house, that sits on a new farm, and learning to drive a new car to their new shop in town, whilst their daughter in Phuket says to them, "I have a new boyfriend now,"

Do these girls fire the gun - no. They just load the bullets.

Provocative post NKM .... as usual. Your imagination is well fired up, but I will admit there is some anecedotal substance to your theory ...

Yeah, just "some."

Would you care to comment on that "some anecdotal substance" LIK?

Why do you think so many western men suicide in Thailand?

Personally I have never first hand (or even second hand) known anyone who killed themself after being financial ruined by their Thai lady. But I do know plenty that have been ruined and moved on with their life. Equally I know personally a few who have a good life and marriage with their Thai partner. It's a tricky subject NKM and you have ventured far into speculation .. and we are well off topic ...

[peterb17]

Trouble is the stuff is very very cheap and I suppose if you are an alcoholic , it's an affordable fix.

I quite like the rice based soju and sake- but this stuff is pretty evil ( even with Coke ! )

[Ulic]

Sounds like he over served himself day after day after day. RIP Dude.