A 23-year-old British man, Tiger Duggan, died at a hospital in Bangkok after suffering severe injuries in a motorcycle crash on Koh Samui, Surat Thani, and spending nearly three weeks in critical condition.
Tiger suffered a serious head injury after another motorcycle allegedly knocked him down as he was overtaking a car on a road on Koh Samui. He was first taken to Koh Samui Hospital before being transferred to MedPark Hospital in Bangkok for further treatment.
Tiger reportedly arrived in Thailand on January 16 and travelled to the island to celebrate his birthday with a friend. Before the crash, he was reported to be working his “dream job” at a gold mining company in Perth, Australia.
His family launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to travel to Thailand to care for him and help cover medical costs, saying an insurance company refused to provide coverage. Tiger’s mother, Lisa Duggan, previously shared a video filmed at his bedside in which she complained about a lack of practical support from the UK government.
In the early hours of February 19, the family announced Tiger’s death on the GoFundMe page. In a tribute, they wrote that their “son and brother lived life to the max!” and thanked everyone for their support and prayers. The family also said Tiger had donated his organs to help three to four people who were fighting for their lives.
In other recent cases involving foreign motorcyclists, an American rider was killed in Pattaya on January 29 after crashing into an SUV in the opposite lane, and a Turkish man died on January 28 following a collision with two vans on a road in Phuket. With reports of rising motorcycle crashes involving foreign tourists, some locals have urged relevant government departments to introduce stricter measures around international driving licenses and motorcycle rentals, particularly in tourist areas.