Curt,

I posted a reply to your last post, but when I sent it, "database error" was reported and hence it was lost. I'm busy right now, so I will try to post a reply to you at some other time.

Curt,

I posted a reply to your last post, but when I sent it, "database error" was reported and hence it was lost. I'm busy right now, so I will try to post a reply to you at some other time.

Sorry to hear that Emdee. I get these errors once in a while and they are a right pain. Normally it's because some spammer is running some program to post automatically on all the threads and it uses up all the available database connections when doing so.

A tip when you post in future - which is a good idea for anywhere on the internet - is to select all of your post and then "Copy" it to the clipboard. You can do this quickly by hitting Ctrl + A and then Ctrl + C. Then if your post fails for whatever reason, you still have what you wrote on the clipboard and you can paste it (Ctrl + V) if you need to post what you wrote again.

HTH
Steve

__________________
Owner, travelforum.org
My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

Speaking of coincidence ...

Earlier, I proposed that, if these cases are poisoning, the method would have to be ingestion, not inhalation. But, how could this be?

In a really bizarre coincidence, my wife received an email from a former boss, entitled "Don't Drink Malaysian Cocktails". It was one the many forwards she sends off under the pretense of keeping in touch.

It took me some time to find a blog that I could post. Although not the actual source of this specific forward, it's the same story.

Good ol’ Malaysian skills | COCKTALES, by the Thirsty Blogger

The 4th picture down wonders "[what's that] poisonous canned [stuff] on [the] right for". My guess it is used to add "punch" to the whiskey.



Bootleg booze is often spiked with toxic chemicals.

I know very little about the Downtown Inn / Night Market area. But, if anything like most other Thailand tourist night spots, there may be a cocktail vendor or two. Couldn't it be possible that some of the victims could have gotten a hold of some toxic hooch? It could have even come from the hotel bar, except some of the victims didn't enter the hotel itself.

Curt reminded recently that I had an addendum to this long topic. In reality I have no new twists of this sad tale, however, when I was living in Auckland for a few months back in winter I did hear Mr Carter being interviewed on this matter by radio station 1ZB.

Obviously still distressed and heartbroken, Mr Carter said that he was bewildered by the Thai authorities and their attitudes. Whilst a few had been helpful and understanding, others had obfuscated and delayed the forwarding of information.

He thanked the NZ Embassy in Bangkok for their efforts and persistence in dragging information from the Thai authorities. However, he said he felt that anyone who was going to Thailand and felt they could rely on the Thai authorities for assistance in the event of something serious occurring, then they would be pretty much on their own.

I was impressed with the way Mr Carter handled himself through this whole ordeal whilst heart broken with the death of his daughter.

This whole turgid and sordid tale of incompetence, obfuscation, bureaucratic bungling and indifference has shone the light once again on what a ramshackle country Thailand is. Will the Thai authorities have learnt from this? The hackneyed phrase This Is Thailand come to mind.

I do have sympathy for Mr. Carter. I have had family members killed, in Thailand, by actual criminal acts. It's hard not to take the "authority's" lack of response personally, but it's not personal on their part. They don't have the resources, either monetarily, or intellectually.

One of my cases involve a sister-in-law's husband, who, according to Suthep's version, died because he ran in "front of bullets" during the protests near Khaosan. Case closed!

In the other case, the murderer didn't confess, witnesses always hide from police, so the cops couldn't slam dunk the case. We funded a private investigation and prosecution of the case. And, even to the prosecutor's surprise, were able to put the ******* away!

The saddest part is that the murder victim was the sister-in-law who's husband was killed during the protests!

Most crime in Thailand is "solved" by confession. Beyond that, few cases get any follow up. Mr. Carter's persistence did make the authorities sing and dance, but I really think that what he got was simply packaged just for him.

Trying to brand me as a heartless jerk, on another forum, one poster asked "What would you do if ....?" I had a very simple reply: "I would be in chiangmai, having an investigation done."

Until someone actually hits the ground in Chiangmai, and does a real, independent investigation, we will have no clue as to what really happened.

In his zeal to tarnish Dow Chemical, I believe Ron McDowell only succeeded in supplying them an easy out with his "Chlorpyrifos" theory. It became a diversion, not a lead.

At this point in time, if Mr Carter is satisfied with simply "knowing" the cause, I hope he finds peace and this comes to rest.

The situation you have described pertaining to your family in Thailand Curt is heart wrenching. Life is indeed cheap in a country often referred to as the Land Of Smiles