Public health officials in Chanthaburi province are waiting for results of an autopsy on a 27-year-old, known in the online community as “Bank Leicester”, who died after drinking alcoholic beverages in exchange for Bt30,000, in the hope that they will reveal the exact cause of his death, Chanthaburi’s public health chief, Dr Apirak Pisutarporn, said today.
Thanakarn Kanthee, was rushed to Song Phi Nong Hospital in Tha Mai district last night after losing consciousness and was later pronounced dead.
In a video clip, which went viral after his death, he is seen drinking a glass of the beverage after being challenged by a man who promised to give him Bt30,000 if he could finish it in one go.
He was later filmed appearing exhausted and falling unconscious, before being transported to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Deputy Police Commissioner Pol Gen Nirandorn Lermsri said that, if the medical examiner concludes that the individual died of unnatural causes as a result of someone else's actions, police will treat it as a criminal case.
For now, however, they will wait for the lab results, Nirandorn said.
Born into a poor family and living with his grandmother, ‘Bank’ sold garlands at a market in Chanthaburi’s Muang district.
He became well-known after a video of him rapping to attract customers was posted on social media and went viral.
‘Bank’ is reported to have been a person with special needs and was often bullied. He was challenged to perform unusual activities, such as eating Japanese wasabi, dancing naked or eating dirty food, in exchange for money.
