Flashermac Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Toxic death theory 'carries little weight' Thai experts are unconvinced by an independent investigation which suggested that a 23-year-old New Zealand tourist died from excessive exposure to a lethal toxin used to kill bedbugs at a Chiang Mai hotel. A toxic substances expert from the Public Health Ministry and the Department of Agriculture said they did not think chlorpyrifos - which is used in insecticide sprays - was the cause of the death of Sarah Carter. Although the experts confirmed Thailand has not banned the substance, approval is needed before it is imported or exported. . . . [color:red]UN scientist Ron McDowall said there was a strong likelihood Carter died from excessive exposure to the substance.[/color] The other four who died after staying at the hotel experienced identical symptoms to those suffered by Carter. [color:blue]Chiang Mai Public Health Office deputy chief Surasing Visaruthrat told the Bangkok Post that although the authorities had not yet ruled out all possible causes of the deaths, the bedbug insecticide assumption "carries little weight".[/color] . . . Figures ... the Farangs know nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted May 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 And on a science note, the absence of the toxin in the bodies, could mean that the toxin dissipates or degrades quickly in an organism. I'd put my money on Ron McDowall who looks to be an expert. Chiang Mai Public Health Office deputy chief Surasing Visaruthrat, seems to be a politician. But I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpharlap Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 It goes to show you how little respect Thais have for life, let alone a farang life ... you would think they would be doing everything to at least come up with their own plausible explanation but yet alas, nothing, just denials and well, that's about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 And on a science note, the absence of the toxin in the bodies, could mean that the toxin dissipates or degrades quickly in an organism. I'd put my money on Ron McDowall who looks to be an expert. Chiang Mai Public Health Office deputy chief Surasing Visaruthrat, seems to be a politician. But I could be wrong. James Arthur Ray is being tried for the deaths of three people in the USA. The defense claims it was an accident and what killed the people was rat poision. The poision it seems mimics heat exhaustion and disapates from the body very fast. The prosecution forgot to check for rat poision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Latest in the Bangkok Post ... << The manager of the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai yesterday denied the hotel has been using a bedbug killer containing chlorpyrifos. His comments followed reports in the New Zealand media that an independent investigation had found traces of chlorpyrifos, a potentially lethal toxin used to kill bedbugs, in samples from hotel rooms where guests had developed fatal illnesses and some died either right in their hotel rooms or elsewhere. Thanthep Bunkaeo said Downtown Inn Hotel, which is in Muang district, had stopped using the bedbug killer a long time ago. He insisted there was no chlorpyrifos in any of the hotel rooms. >> What a surprise! It never happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Just saw the NZ 60 minutes show on this. The Governor was just not credible. 7 deaths is a "coincidence" he says. When the presenter said that in NZ the authorities would have shut the hotel down until investigations were complete, he looked really distressed at the thought. I can only think he was worried about income streams (my impression of his distress). The reporter visited the hotel, which was being scrubbed from top to bottom, ahead of the health department visit the next day. The reporter took samples back to NZ. Just as well. Samples of chemicals found in the hotel and linked to a previous death, were lost by the Thais. This really is a load of crap. Don't the Thais know, that the more opaque they try and make this problem the larger it's gonna get. I'm seriously gonna avoid Chiang Mai in the future, not because I'll get poisoned, but because I will have a bad memory about the place. It's off the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Go to Chiang Rai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted May 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Vientiane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 I just saw the NZ 60 minutes show on this. The Governor was just not credible. 7 deaths is a "coincidence" he says. What amazes me most about this story and others like it is the way Thai authorities respond to them. Deny, admit nothing and try to explain it away with explanations that obviously lack any credibility. If that doesn't work, say that the foreigners just don't understand it. There is some unique Thai aspect to this that a foreign mind just cannot understand. Here, of course, we're talking about medical forensics, so they'll get absolutely nowhere with that line. And then, of course, say, foreign media are out to make Thais look bad. It's unpatriotic to believe a credible and consistent foreign account over a Thai local official's incredible and inconsistent account. That the official has a financial interest in the matter is irrelevant, and raising it exposes the party raising it to criminal defamation lawsuit or worse - say, death by 'lead' poisoning. The Thai strategy doesn't really seem to have changed much over the last several decades. But the World has changed tremendously now that this sort of information can easily be spread and cross-checked over the internet. And so officials get more annoyed and lash out as the old strategies fail miserably and foreign observers have a field day mocking Thai officialdom. Why don't they get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpharlap Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Why do islamist blow themselves up, because they come back as heroes and have 72 virgins. Thais, predominately being buddhists believe in reincarnation, so, they think, what is all the fuss about someone's death, karma will fix all. There is a tendency in the west to romanticize Thai lifestyle and the buddhist religion. Why? I, will never know, nor do I want to know because I will tink to mut I tend to find Thais as 'so matter of fact' it can be unnerving sometimes. There is a small portion of Thais, IMO, who believe that great wealth can come at any cost, and the poor (believing in an ancient religious doctrine - reincarnation & what goes around, comes around) willingly excuse this anomaly. It is the Asian way of, 'she'll be right mate' in a perverse way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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