Raw deal tragedy: Thai man chokes on pork outside Samut Prakarn grocery (video)

A Thai man died outside a local grocery store in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok after choking on some raw pork.

A 35 year old Thai man, Sittikorn, spotted the victim, 48 year old Rate, lying prostrate outside the grocery store in Soi Thetsaban Bang Pu 59 in the Mueang district of Samut Prakarn province at 9.30pm on January 1 while riding by on a motorcycle.

Sittikorn said he initially ignored the man but later realised it was his neighbour and returned to the scene to check on him only to find that he had already died. Sittikorn said that Rate lived near his house. He often saw him in the community but they rarely spoke.

Sittikorn reported the death to Mueang Samut Prakarn Police Station. Officers found no signs of physical assault or theft. They found food and rice on the table at the scene and pieces of raw pork scattered all over the floor.

Officers checked the store’s security camera and discovered that choking was the cause of Rate’s death. The CCTV footage showed Rate eating raw pork outside the grocery store. He then choked on the pork as he tried unsuccessfully to remove it from his throat. Rate collapsed to the ground and fell onto the footpath.

Officers transferred his lifeless body to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy to officially confirm the cause of Rate’s death.

Despite the risk of choking, raw pork consumption can be fatal. Eating raw pork can lead to the streptococcus suis infection, which is known among Thais as hearing loss fever. Patients lose their hearing both temporarily and permanently.

Raw pork can carry germs and bacteria into the human body, causing skin and soft tissue infections that can develop into septicemia and death.

The Department of Disease Control reported that more than 500 Thai people were infected with streptococcus suis between January and November last year, and 26 patients died from the infection.