Seventh dead in Chiang Mai mystery
Bill Mah (left) with Ken Fraser - (Photo: Andrew Drummond)
A Canadian man from Edmonton is the seventh mysterious death in Chiang Mai. The Canadian, Bill Mah (59) died after using the swimming pool of the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai.
Previously, a British couple and a Thai guide found dead in their rooms. A 23-year-old New Zealand woman living in the Downtown Inn died in hospital after violent vomiting and convulsions.
The Canadian man had no heart problems and was known to be healthy. His death was not made public. Thai authorities listed his death certificate as a natural death. This despite the fact that no results are yet known from the toxicological tests carried out seven weeks ago.
Mr Mah was staying at the nearby People's Place Hotel in Chiang Mai and made use of the Downtown Inn's facilities, including the swimming pool.
Ken Fraser, was on a golf vacation with his friend Bill Mah. “His death is a complete mystery. He seemed fit and had no heart problems. We have not heard anything about the cause of his death. That is why we have asked the Canadian consul to investigate the matter.”
Bill Mah passed away on January 26th and had already been in Chiang Mai for two weeks at that time. On January 24, while having dinner with a friend, he returned to his hotel at the end of the evening. “The following morning he complained of lack of sleep due to chest pains,” said Mr Fraser. They decided to go to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital. “He stayed there for 24 hours. Doctors ran tests to determine if he had suffered a heart attack. The tests turned out negative. On the morning of the 26th, the chest pain was less and the doctor diagnosed acid reflux and sent him away with medicine for that ailment.”
Bill was later found dead in the hotel room by his friends. His friends tried to resuscitate him but to no avail. At the hospital, he was pronounced dead fifteen minutes after his arrival.
“We were told by staff at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital that he did not die of a heart attack. The hospital called the cause of death suspicious and only wanted to draw a conclusion after receiving the toxicology reports.”
Mr Mah's relatives join the relatives of the other victims. They think that a serious virus is active in Chiang Mai, which affects the heart muscle. They also accuse the Thai authorities of covering this up for the sake of tourism.
Source: Andrew Drummond
Evil spirits. No doubt about it. 😉
mmm, Chiang Mai is on my list for my upcoming trip. I'm starting to have doubts.
Ben has been in Chiang Mai for 10 days, ok experience and disillusionment richer, can't find anything there, have to be honest it was my first time in Thailand, so I didn't know the bang of the whip
@ Hans, I disagree with you. Chiang Mai is beautiful, very relaxed. More the 'real' Thailand.
khun peter, good reading is important, I have already read from you, it was my first time in Thailand on changmai and pattaya, so a bit of a difference, if you think you still have some catching up to do,
Peter,
I don't explain it well either, so I came from changmia to PAT later, I hadn't studied it completely in Thailand, had no need to cross the border at all.
My (german) neighbor at the Dutch camping season has been nagging me for 3 years that I should go with him to the philippines to visit his old friend. So end of season, I say let's go in winter
To make a long story short, his wife wouldn't let him, come talk to someone, I want to go to Thailand, come with me, boarded the plane blank, well and then you just end up in a whole different world. so the rest can be guessed
Indeed Changmai is beautiful, but not comparable to Pattaya.
Go there regularly for a midweek, always book the Changmai Plaza Hotel.
From the outside it looks boring, this changes when you enter the lobby through the stained glass doors, it looks like a palace.
Pay 1700 bath a day for a suite, and it's just around the corner from the Nichtmarket.
If you know the way there is plenty to do in the dark hours, I'm just fleeing this whole thing, so hang out there as a tourist, ride an elephant, view a waterfall, and go up the mountain.
Thailand's Department for Disease Control says it can find no links between the deaths of the six cases it had examined of people visiting Chiang Mai in January and February and no link to the Downtown Inn owned by a millionaire former Mayor of the city. But they had found evidence of the Coxsackie virus in Sarah and 'Echovirus' in another. Four of the deaths were due to myocarditis.
People can contract the Coxsackie and Echo virus from food, water, in the air, and even objects such as bed linen or taps (faucets).
The seventh dead? I count five: British couple, New Zealand, travel guide and now this Canadian.
@ Dick, this is a follow up to an article I wrote earlier: https://www.thailandblog.nl/steden/mysterieuze-dood-van-toeristen-chiang-mai/
New Zealand Sarah Carter (23)
the American Soraya Vorster (33
a Frenchwoman
elderly British couple
a 47-year-old Thai woman
Bill Mah (59)
That's seven.
Otherwise, read Andrew Drummond's blog: http://tinyurl.com/4nl37zw
He goes into much more detail about it.
Hi I'm Annette wiertz,
I live with my husband Martin wiertz in Thailand Chiangrai for five years.
We often go to Chiangmai. I was shocked by the email I just read.
What is true about a virus?????
And how can we protect ourselves from it???
Gr, Annette and Martin Wiertz.
Hi Annette, don't worry be happy go back to the top and click on the log of khun peter dated March 21, 7.26
It's not entirely clear what's going on. A number of victims had also eaten at the same Japanese restaurant. You could also think of legionella (legionnaires' disease).
Don't panic and follow the (English-language) media seems best to me.