PATHUM THANI: A 66-year-old man attending a farewell meal with relatives died when a piece of honey-roasted duck became stuck in his throat at a suki restaurant in Thanyaburi district on Sunday.
Suthep Sarakul, of Chon Buri, was sitting in a wheelchair, dead, in the car park of the Tesco Lotus Khlong Si branch on Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok road when police arrived about 2pm, Pol Lt Col Yutthaphum Pho-udom, the Thanyaburi investigation chief, said.
An assistant manager of the restaurant, whose name was withheld, told police that Suthep and his group had ordered a set of suki food and a plate of a honey-roasted duck.
About an hour later, the man suddenly showed signs of distress, indicating something was lodged in his throat, she said.
Staff immediately called for an ambulance. Relatives asked the superstore to provide a wheelchair to take him outside, but he died before the ambulance arrived, Thai media reported.
One relative said he was due to leave on a trip to the United States on Monday, and Suthep had travelled from Chon Buri province to see him at his home in Pathum Thani, and to farewell him at Suvarnabhumi airport.
On Sunday, Suthep and other relatives took him for a meal at the superstore’s MK restaurant.
Everything was fine until Suthep seemed to have a bout of hiccups, indicating something had lodged in his throat. He had been enjoying the duck. Relatives immediately took him outside after calling for an ambulance, but he died.
Pol Lt Col Yutthaphum said the relatives would be questioned further.
The body was taken to Thammasat Chalermprakiet Hospital for a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.