Investigation into Briton’s death ongoing

Investigations into the death of British tourist Mark Elliott in Chiang Mai late last month are still ongoing, but the cause of death seems to have been established by local doctors. The 34-year old Elliott arrived in Chiang Mai with his partner, 24-year old Claire Durie in the last week of March, intending to tour Thailand for their few weeks’ holiday. The couple checked into a guesthouse near Wat Phra Singh, and on the evening of the 20th, hit the town and began to drink heavily. The couple reportedly met friends in the Night Bazaar area, and the group met other friends at a bar.

As the revelry continued into the wee hours of the morning, the couple realized that they could not find their guesthouse. A security guard watching over a newly constructed building saw the state of the couple and offered them a finished room to sleep for the night. When Durie woke up, Elliott was dead beside her. When police and doctors from Maharaj hospital arrived, Durie told them that Elliott had suffered from a life-long illness that required medication, and had already been to Chiang Mai Ram hospital once before. It is that the drinking caused a relapse and cost Elliott his life. Information on the disease has not been released.