Aussie Dies After Thai Street Attack
An Australian tourist who died after being attacked in Thailand will be buried there tomorrow, farewelled by his pregnant Thai girlfriend and Adelaide family.
Andrew Oake, 28, had been holidaying in Prasat, near Surin in north-eastern Thailand, for two months with his girlfriend, Som, who is six months pregnant.
About four weeks ago the pair were travelling between villages when they were set upon by two men on motorbikes.
Som ran for help while Mr Oake was slashed on the arms and head with a machete in what might have been a failed robbery.
His father, Roy Oake, said his son was first sent to a local hospital, but the tendons in his arm were severed, and he was sent to Bangkok for surgery.
Mr Oake said there was speculation his son could lose his arm, but he was urged to leave hospital by his travel insurance company.
He returned to Prasat, nine hours away, but later needed another operation in Bangkok and treatment for an infection that had developed in his arm.
At that point, Mr Oake says the insurance company ordered his son to return to Australia for treatment or it would end his policy.
He was making the trip back to Prasat to fetch his passport on Sunday when he died on the mini-bus.
Mr Oake, who arrived in Thailand with his son's brother and mother this week, said he hoped his son's insurance would provide for Som and the baby.
"I told them he was in no condition to travel anywhere," he said.
"He was fatigued, he was in pain, he wouldn't make it."
The couple were married last year by local monks.
Their friend Travis Senne, an American living in Thailand, said he was concerned police had not made an arrest, weeks after the attack in the quiet town.
"Prasat is such a peaceful area, it's not a big city or anything," he said.
"Andrew was a very upstanding, honest person, a very responsible family man.
"He had a plan, a life plan, but it got cut short."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said staff had been in contact with the family and would provide all necessary consular assistance.
"The cause of death is a matter for Thai authorities to determine," she said.
Source : Sydney Morning Herald
-- 2010-04-15
