Unlicensed construction may be cause of Koh Larn resort death

A simple and tragic case of a girl who was found dead in her resort bathroom on the popular holiday island of Koh Larn has taken a twist as officials say the property had no construction license. Though the first information released about her death last week implied a night of heavy drinking led to a fatal accident, poor building techniques at the resort could possibly be to blame for her mysterious death.

Last week a young woman was holidaying with a few friends and they had all reportedly been drinking heavily. In their room at the unnamed resort near Sangwan Beach, the 26 year old woman went into the bathroom to take a bath. Her friends later found her naked and dead on the bathroom floor and called the police for help.

Now, a prominent civil engineer working for Pattaya City said that the resort has been operating for a year despite not having the actual license and permitting to build the property. The deceased woman’s family said they believe that her death was a result of a gas leak or smoke due to unsafe construction on the resort.

Pattaya City Police were joined by several experts to inspect the hotel that now remains closed as the investigation is still open. An instructor from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the King Mongkut’s University of Technology and a civil engineer from the city joined to offer insight into the construction of the resort.

The rooms at the resort are like portable stand-alone pods and city officials confirmed that they have no records of the property ever being approved for a construction license from the government. Inspectors found that the electrical systems used in the resort were not built following the required legal standards.

Investigators said that they didn’t find and immediate proof that there had been a gas leak in the room, but their testing did detect a small loss of oxygen in the room when the water heater was activated and in use. The water heater was sent to Bangkok for further inspection and measurements by experts to determine if it had leaked gas and contributed to the woman’s death.

As of now, there’s no conclusive evidence that a loss of oxygen contributed to her death, and the resort remains closed but cooperative with police as the investigation continues.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News