Another victim succumbed to toxins released by the Mae Mo lignitepowered plant in Lampang province, while waiting for the Supreme Administrative Court to consider his appeal, a source said yesterday. Kham Inkhampa, 79, died from chronic respiratory disease last Saturday.
Kham, who developed respiratory disease from exposure to toxins, and two of his neighbours filed a lawsuit against the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) in 2004 and the court ruled that the victims be compensated. However, the case is currently pending appeal. The two neighbours died before Kham succumbed to the disease last week, leaving his wife Dip as the sole plaintiff of this lawsuit.
Dip lamented that she and Kham suffered from respiratory illness over the past 10 years, and though Egat provided the necessary care as per a previous agreement, the family had to travel to Chiang Mai for treatments, which now amounted to Bt100,000. She said she did not know where to find the money to pay the medical bills or cover her husband's funeral. Kham will be cremated on Sunday.