Steam-bath gas victim leaves hospital

SINGAPORE (AFP): A Thai executive who fell into a week-long coma last month after a steam bath in a Singapore hotel has been discharged from hospital. Pongkeeree Yossingha, 27, of Bangkok told the Straits Times he was glad to be leaving the hospital. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he said, adding he was touched by the kindness of the hospital staff and strangers who came to support him and his mother. He was admitted to the hospital on August 15 with lung problems after inhaling a pungent “chemical-like” gas in the steam bath of the Plaza Parkroyal Hotel, the report said. Police are investigating the incident, it added. Pongkeeree will be staying in Singapore to receive further treatment from the hospital, the report said.