Thai chef dies in Cambodia after being refused hospital care for lack of documents

A 24-year-old Thai chef, named Methachan (surname withheld), from Phrom Khiri, Nakhon Si Thammarat, has died in Cambodia after being refused hospital treatment due to lack of documents and funds, according to posts by a staffer of the Immanuel Foundation on Facebook.

The chef had been found lying unwell outside a commercial building in Cambodia. His mother, Nawi, 49, told reporters that her son had graduated from a vocational college and worked on ships as a chef, travelling internationally on contracts of around nine months, with a relatively high salary.

Due to differing time zones, the family rarely communicated, though he occasionally sent photos and chatted via Facebook. After working on ships for over a year, contact was lost. The family became alarmed when images of him circulated online.

Thai authorities were contacted and learned that he had been discovered suffering from stomach pain and lying outside a building. He was taken to a hospital in Cambodia but was denied care because he had no documents or money.

The family suspects that Methachan’s ship contract had ended, and he may have been persuaded by fellow Thais to work as a chef in Cambodia, where he was allegedly robbed, threatened, and physically assaulted, having all his documents, including his passport, confiscated.

Officials confirmed that he died from a pre-existing medical condition and respiratory distress, exacerbated by the lack of timely medical treatment. The Burapha Task Force in Sa Kaeo is coordinating to repatriate the body to Thailand, where it will be handed to the family in Nakhon Si Thammarat.