Crime
Mysterious Tourist Deaths in S.E. Asia prompt Poison Probe
Chiangrai Times –Kari Bowerman, 27, and Cathy Huynh, 26, were backpacking in Vietnam while on break from their jobs teaching English in South Korea.
On July 30, the friends were admitted to Khanh Hoa General Hospital in Nha Trang. Both were vomiting, had difficulty breathing and showed signs of severe dehydration.
Huynh was eventually released from the hospital. She returned later that night to hear the devastating news — three hours after being admitted, Bowerman had gone into respiratory failure and died.
Two days later, Huynh was dead.
What we don’t know for sure is what triggered their deaths.
The travelers’ stories are just the latest in a string of mysterious tourist deaths in Southeast Asia. Investigators with the World Health Organization suspect poisoning is to blame, but determining the origin has proven difficult. Meanwhile, friends and family are desperate for answers.
“It’s been a nightmare trying to get information,” Bowerman’s sister Jennifer Jaques said. “No hospital reports. No police report. No nothing. Whatever happened to her we need to make sure doesn’t happen to somebody else.”
Not yet determined
Almost immediately, international media reports began linking the deaths an incident in Thailand in June in which two Canadian sisters died.
A hotel maid found Noemi and Audrey Belanger, 25 and 20, in their room on Phi Phi Island more than 12 hours after they died. The sisters were covered in vomit, according to CBC News.
Noemi and Audrey Belanger, 25 and 20In February 2011, New Zealand resident Sarah Carter, 23, died in Chiang Mai, Thailand, after arriving at a local hospital with low blood pressure, difficulty breathing and dehydration from vomiting, according to the New Zealand television network TV3.
In the Downtown Inn where Carter had stayed, the Bangkok Post says three other visitors — a Thai tour guide and an elderly British couple — died between January and May 2011.
Other media reports linked Bowerman’s and Huynh’s deaths to the 2009 deaths of Jill St. Onge and Julie Bergheim, who had similar symptoms in adjacent rooms at the Laleena Guesthouse on the island of Phi Phi. (The hotel has since changed its name).
Speculation on the cause arose with each death — ranging from alcohol poisoning to something the victims ate.
As Bowerman’s relatives read story after story, they realized they weren’t the only family frustrated and confused. The cause of death in every case was eerily similar to the one written on Kari’s death report: “not yet determined.”
Global citizens
Ashley Bowerman says it was “heartbreaking” to unzip her sister’s backpack. Inside was a big map of Vietnam, a book about the history of the region and a list of historical sites she wanted to visit.
Her belongings had been returned home to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where the girls grew up. Fundraisers helped offset the more than $10,000 it cost the family to repatriate her cremated body.
Ashley is still in shock. Kari — beautiful, adventurous, full-of-life Kari — is dead.
Born just a year and 10 days apart, the sisters talked every day, even when Kari was halfway around the world.
“She was the funniest person I know,” Ashley said. “She always made me laugh. She never wasted a day … every weekend she was doing something exciting.”
Both Bowerman and Huynh were experienced travelers. Bowerman had applied for the teaching abroad program after graduating from Winona State University in Minnesota. She had already taught for two years in South Korea when the school asked her to come back for a second stint.
“Those kids adored her,” Jennifer Jaques said.
Huynh, originally from Hamilton, Ontario, had vacationed in China, Cuba and the United States, her high school friend Jetty Ly told CNN.
Both women had been to Vietnam before and Huynh spoke the language. Among the belongings returned to Huynh’s family was detailed information about the Canadian Embassy and emergency contact numbers.
“I encouraged her to follow her dreams, go where her heart wants to go,” Ly said. “I wanted to live vicariously through her adventures. But not like this.”
When Bowerman’s friend Jason Von Seth posted about her death on Facebook, e-mails started flooding in.
A frequent traveler himself, Von Seth had a large network of international acquaintances whom had never heard about this series of mysterious deaths and expressed concern.
He launched a Facebook page last week called Protected Travels. He said he hopes the site will become a community of global citizens who are eager to educate others on the challenges facing travelers abroad.
Five ways to stay healthy while traveling abroad
At the top of the Facebook page is a collection of photos of those who have died in circumstances similar to Huynh and Bowerman.
“All these girls, you see their faces,” Von Seth said. “(They’re) all young, 20-somethings that just wanted to have a life-changing experience.”
Seeking answers
In 2011, TV3 traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to search for evidence in the Sarah Carter case. Show producers spoke with Dr. Ron McDowall, a United Nations toxic chemical consultant, who had reviewed Carter’s pathology reports and believed she died of pesticide ingestion.
23-year-old Sarah Carter died in Chiang Mai in Thailand,The swabs collected by TV3 in the Downtown Inn showed moderate levels of chlorpyrifos, McDowall told CNN in an email last week.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, chlorpyrifos can cause nausea, dizziness, confusion and, in high levels, respiratory paralysis and death.
The chemical is banned for use in homes and hotels in most countries, McDowall said. Yet it’s still legal in Thailand and Vietnam, he said, and was included in the pesticide sprayed in the Downtown Inn.
“The level of (chlorpyrifos) in this product is quite low and should not normally cause a problem. However, in my work we have found many sprayer companies ‘top up’ the level of (chlorpyrifos) when they are battling bedbugs in Asia.”
Evidence for the insecticide theory is mounting. Thai police recently announced they found traces of the insect repellent DEET in the Belanger sisters’ bodies, according CBC. Investigators believe the DEET was added as an ingredient to a popular cocktail served on the island.
The Downtown Inn was torn down this summer after the Thailand Disease Control Department concluded three of the deaths were “probably connected to the use of pesticides,” according to the Bangkok Post.
The problem is that chemical poisoning is very hard to verify, McDowall says. Chlorpyrifos’ half-life — or the amount of time that passes before half of the original amount disappears — in humans is about one day.
Vietnamese authorities have released very little information about the cause of death for Bowerman and Huynh. Investigators might know more when autopsy results come back in a couple of weeks.
But for the survivors, just knowing the answer isn’t good enough anymore. They are determined to raise awareness and are searching for the next step, whether that’s better education, tougher insecticide regulation or banning these chemicals outright.
“Cathy could have been alive today,” said Ly. “I feel like if we can at least let the world know that this is happening … maybe when a parent’s daughter (or) son tells them that they are backpacking in South Asia, it will not be the last goodbye.” – By Jacque Wilson, CNN
Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.
Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.
According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.
Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.
His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.
During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.
The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.
She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.
Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.
The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.
The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.
Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.
He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.
Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.
On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.
His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.
Related Police News:
Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/
Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.
Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).
According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.
He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.
Police called to home invasion
Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.
When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.
They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.
While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.
Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.
The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.
Other Bangkok News:
Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel
Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel
Crime
Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network
The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.
Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.
Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).
Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.
Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.
According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.
Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.
Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.
According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.
According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.
Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.
But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.
The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.
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Thailand’s Cyber Crime Police Raid Top Cops Home Over Gambling Websites
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