Ousted Deputy PM Pracha denies Phuket stroke rumors

PHUKET: Former Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok has shot down rumors that he had a stroke after Phuket locals saw him rushed into the emergency room of Bangkok Hospital Phuket last night.

Gen Pracha was taken to the hospital at about 7:30pm after he passed out on his yacht near Naka Island, off the east coast of Phuket.

“I had an allergic reaction to something I ate and fell unconscious. I did not have a stroke, that was just a rumor,” Gen Pracha told the press this morning.

The former deputy prime minister, one of nine Cabinet ministers ousted by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (story here), explained that he has a villa in the Chalong area and was on holiday in Phuket when the accident happened.

“I took a flight back home to Bangkok so I can rest and recover at home. I feel much better now,” he said.

Dr Piriya Atisook, deputy director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, confirmed Gen Pracha’s statement and attributed the incident to a food allergy.

“He is now safe and has been discharged from the hospital so he can recover at home,” Dr Piriya said.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong