AT LEAST 17 expats have died on Phuket since the Phuket honorary consuls met the Phuket Governor and island leaders three months ago.

Only 13 are named in an official police list that seeks to update all expat deaths. Phuketwan has reported on at least four more expat deaths that are not on the list.

Drownings on Karon beach appear to be almost always excluded.

The updated list - with names missing - will be presented when Phuket's honorary consuls meet Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Monday in Phuket City at their regular quarterly encounter.

In all, the police list recorded 73 deaths of expats in 2010. Phuketwan reported in November that several drownings of expats on Karon and Kata beaches had not been recorded in the police list, for reasons that have remained unexplained.

The names have not been added.

A search of Phuketwan reports on expat deaths reveals four additional names missing from the latest list. One is Swede Felipe Gustavo Basualto Trincado, who allegedly committed suicide on December 26, a day after returning to Phuket.

Missing too is the name of German tourist Klaus Peter Perice who died of a methadone overdose at a five-star resort on the west coast on February 4. A second German, also a recovering heroin addict, was admitted to hospital for emergency treatment.

Also missing is Dane Erik Larsin, who drowned on Karon beach on January 14, the same day as a Russian tourist.

These four sad omissions mean the list of expat deaths remains by no means comprehensive.

However, Phuketwan believes its compilation is a step towards a more transparent approach and hopes that the day will come when all of Phuket's police officers share the desire of Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong to be as open and comprehensive as possible about all expat deaths.

It is also to be hoped that there are fewer omissions as time passes, otherwise the list could lose all meaning.

Even allowing for omissions, the list does indicate that the number of deaths of expats on Phuket is not shockingly high, nor are there vast numbers of unexplained deaths.

Both these theories were often promoted in expat chat rooms and in Phuket bars before the list was published in Phuketwan for the first time last year.

Police have yet to close the case of a Swedish man who was found dead in unusual circumstances in his 10th floor apartment on January 20. At first, Phuketwan reporters concluded that a murder had been committed.

However, a junior investigating officer decided that the death had been the result of a bizarre mishap. According to a sub-lieutenant, the man toppled onto shards of broken glass, creating two deep puncture wounds in his back, then tumbled onto a bed and bled to death in a drunken stupor.

The list indicates that police cannot yet be absolutely certain about the circumstances. Perhaps they never will be.

One of the difficulties with expat deaths on Phuket and in Thailand is that there are no inquests of the kind that are always held as a matter of course in many western countries.

A coroner will often rule on the cause of death after hearing evidence on oath from witnesses, including police investigators, and the findings of specialists who usually perform a thorough autopsy.

If an autopsy is required in a case on Phuket, the body usually has to be sent to Bangkok for a thorough examination to be made, often at the expense of the people who wish to have the autopsy performed.

Phuketwan has been told of at least one case where the family of a person who died in unusual circumstances on Phuket has insisted on the body being transported home for a thorough autopsy.

Despite the wishes of Phuket's most senior policeman to be as open as possible about expat deaths, until lists of the departed are free from omissions and the causes of death can be absolutely certain, elements of suspicion and doubt are bound to remain.


Mrs Oliveros Florencia Philippino drowned at a house in Kathu on November 29
Qiang Zhao China jet-ski crash into a yacht at Patong on December 1
Fang Chu China wife of Qiang Zhao, crashed into yacht on December 1
Joseph Patrick Canada heart attack on yacht during Kings' Cup on December 8
Mrs Irina Bobrova Russia drowned at Karon beach on December 12
German Chupranov Russia heart attack at Rawai on December 12


Robert Wayne Harris US died of chronic illness at Patong resort on January 10
Marc Hendrik Belgium died of diabetes at Phuket International Hospital on January 15
Jan Mikael Lorson Sweden case still being examined, at Patong Tower on January 20
Yeyson Alonso Martinez Sweden hit by a water truck after toppling off motorcycle in Patong, January 23
Katai Tibor Hungary doctor who drowned in pool at Kamala Beach Resort on January 23
Paul Allen New Zealand bar owner suffered heart attack at Patong home on February 13
Harald Rainer German fell down steps in Patong on February 13