'No one held to account' for Chiang Mai hotel fatalities

'No one held to account' for Chiang Mai hotel fatalities

Sarah Carter

The families of three of the foreign tourists who died under mysterious circumstances after staying at a Chiang Mai hotel have expressed disappointment at a report into the deaths released last week, saying no one has been held personally accountable.

Stephen Everitt, whose parents George, 78, and Eileen, 74, were both found dead together in their room at the Downtown Inn on Feb 19 said he was frustrated by the report's findings.
The Disease Control Department's report _ released on Tuesday after a five-month probe into six deaths which were associated with the hotel _ concluded that three of the deaths were probably connected to the use of pesticides.
All the deaths occurred over a two month period.
The report said that the Everitts, from Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom, may have been poisoned by the same chemicals, but it could not make a direct link to the other three deaths.
"The case may be closed to the Thai authorities, but not to me," said Stephen Everitt.
"I don't understand why such deadly chemicals would have been used in a hotel _ there's no explanation.
"The Downtown Inn is still open and no one has been held accountable for what happened. We need answers."
The report conceded that despite the best efforts of Thai authorities and their international partners, "the precise causes of the deaths and illnesses cannot be definitively identified or confirmed" and added that full laboratory tests had been hindered due to inadequate samples.
The parents of New Zealander Sarah Carter, 23, another hotel guest identified as likely to have died after exposure to pesticides, said they were hopeful that local health authorities would follow up the report's recommendation to better control the use of pesticides in hotels.
"That is positive for travellers to Thailand, and I would certainly like to see all those suggested remedies put into place," said Sarah Carter's father, Richard, who has set up a website warning about travel to Thailand.
The fact that medical experts from both Thailand and overseas were involved in the investigation showed it had been taken seriously.
However, Mr Carter added that "they certainly haven't done anything that's in any way likely to make anyone accountable, [such as launching a] thorough investigation around the hotel or into the pesticide company".
A spokesman for New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully said that several aspects of the case remained unanswered. "The report does not identify how or where the individuals came into contact with the toxic substance, nor if any individual is responsible," he said. "We continue to encourage the Thai authorities to investigate."
Sarah Carter's mother, Anna, said the findings gave the family some finality. Local authorities originally said the woman had died from eating "toxic seaweed" from a food stall. "If it had only been that way right at the start, perhaps we would have had a clearer idea as to what caused the illnesses," she said.