Holiday in Cambodia | The Mysterious Death of Nara Pech
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Four years. That's how long it took Democrats to ruin our economy and plunge our southern border into anarchy. Who helped them hurt us? Ruben Gallego. Washington could have cut taxes for Arizona families, but Ruben blocked the bill. And his fellow Democrats gave a bigger break to the millionaire class in California and New York. They played favorites and cost us billions. And Ruben wasn't done yet.

We'll be right back.

Carrie and the Republicans will secure the border, support our families, and never turn their backs on us. Carrie Lake for Senate. I'm Carrie Lake, candidate for U.S. Senate, and I approve this message. Paid for by Carrie Lake for Senate and the NRSC.

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For 28 years, Canadian-born Nara Pich had wanted to reconnect with his cultural roots in Southeast Asia. He was born in Edmonton, Canada, a few months after his parents immigrated from Thailand. He grew up celebrating Christmas and enjoying all the spoils of the Western world.

But as Nara grew older, he felt he needed to learn more about his heritage. So, shortly after college, Nara and his two best friends booked a backpacking trip around Southeast Asia. The plan was to see as much as they could in as short a time as possible. They hopped from bus to plane and from cab to train, setting foot in three cities within the first six nights. But they weren't just there to sightsee.

Every night was an alcohol-fueled adventure. It's unclear if they took any recreational drugs, but nobody would be surprised if they did. By day eight, the stress of the trip began weighing heavily on them, especially Nera. He grew paranoid and began speaking in roundabout, incoherent sentences. When they arrived at the airport in Laos, Nera dropped a bombshell on his buddies. He wanted to go home.

Sadly, Nera never returned to Canada and never spoke to his parents or sister again. It wasn't for a lack of trying though. Nera called, but the drastic time zone difference meant his loved ones were fast asleep. They woke up to find sickening messages on their answering machine. Nera was in trouble. Somebody was allegedly trying to kill him. They took his passport and followed him around the airport. Then they struck.

The last images of Nara from his trip were police photos of him lying in a pool of blood. That was in 2015. As of 2024, his family still doesn't have a clear picture of how Nara died. The Lao government, known worldwide for rampant corruption, claims Nara killed himself. According to them, he had a psychotic break, smashed a glass window, and stabbed himself to death with the shards.

However, blood spatter experts and forensic pathologists agree that, based on the scene and Nera's injuries, there's no way in hell this was a suicide. To them, Nera was murdered. His family tends to agree with that sentiment. For nearly 10 years, they've been trying to figure out why and how Nera died in that airport. Unfortunately, they've been stonewalled every step of the way.

What is the Lao government hiding? Why won't the Canadians lift a finger? And if Nara did suffer a psychotic break, what happened on that trip to send him over the edge? Part 1: The Trip of a Lifetime Nara's fiancé, Maureen Cheer, said her future husband always wanted to see the world. He had a soft spot in his heart for underprivileged children and would do whatever he could to put a smile on their faces.

One time, during a trip to the Dominican Republic, Nera brought a bag of toys and passed them out to the first group of kids he saw. Maureen loved that about him, and it's why she couldn't wait to marry him. But their wedding, children, and happily ever after would have to wait until after Nera's dream vacation. As his best friend, Elliot Rahm, put it: "If we don't do it now, who knows when we'll get another chance?"

Nara, Elliot, and a third friend, Trevor, flew from Ontario to Bangkok, Thailand, on January 15th, 2015. If you were to book that trip right now, it would likely take you over 24 hours to get there between layovers and connecting flights. By the first night, sleep deprivation was already kicking in. In a letter Nara wrote home to Maureen, he mentions how the group only got two hours of uninterrupted sleep.

In Thailand, it was go-go-go until the early hours of the following day. They bounced from bar to bar, drinking as they went, never stopping to relax and de-stress. Twelve hours after landing in Thailand, they drove nearly 250 miles east to Siem Reap, a resort town in northwestern Cambodia. From there, they went sightseeing at the Temple of Angkor Wat, which is the structure imprinted on the Cambodian flag.

They stayed in Cambodia for a few days to unwind and adapt to the time zone. Nera spoke the language, making it easier to communicate and get around. Elliot remembers how friendly everybody was whenever Nera opened his mouth. This Cambodian-speaking man from the west was like a movie star to the locals. On January 19th, the group arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

That made three major cities in six nights, and each of those nights was fueled by alcohol and long parties. They were running on minimal sleep and pure adrenaline, and hadn't even reached the halfway point. Over the next 48 hours, something flips in Nara, and their dream vacation turns into his worst nightmare. Part 2. Head on a Swivel

Southeast Asia is among the world's most beautiful and historic regions. It's also a hotbed for crime, corruption, and human trafficking. According to Interpol, Southeast Asian human trafficking networks rake in about $3 trillion each year. While travelers and tourists are generally safe within the main cities, they should always keep their heads on a swivel.

Most of the crime, between 40 and 70%, revolves around illegal drugs. However, some gangs specialize in illicit guns, stolen goods, and people. Cybercrime is also a major operation in Southeast Asia, with criminal networks mastering online fraud. According to the UN, hundreds of thousands fall victim to these schemes each year.

Tragically, some are forcibly recruited into labor camps and fraud compounds, working under the control of these cybercriminals. A 2023 report estimates that up to 120,000 people are currently being held captive in compounds located between Myanmar and Cambodia. The UN has classified their living conditions as modern-day slavery.

These criminal organizations compel their captives to participate in cybercrime, and the consequences for disobedience are severe. You might wonder, why haven't these governments taken action if the situation is so dire? Although some Southeast Asian nations have established legal frameworks to tackle cybercrime, many of their efforts still fall short of international standards, leaving thousands of victims vulnerable.

That's because cybercrime, and crime in general, is a top moneymaker in the Eastern world. Unfortunately, those who make the laws are often on somebody's payroll. Let's take Laos, for example, where Nehru Paich spent the last moments of his short life. It's been well documented by credible NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, that Laos is guilty of many human rights violations.

The Marxist-Leninist one-party government is known to engage in heavy censorship, the torture of political dissidents, and the heavy use of the death penalty. As recently as April 2023, an unknown assailant tried to murder the owner of a Facebook page that provided a platform for public debate. In other words, he broke the cardinal rule of Laos, never criticized the government.

One of the worst places in Laos to visit is the northwestern province of Boko. Its location on the Mekong River and its shared border with Thailand and Myanmar earned it the nickname the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. While that sounds good on paper, it's a cesspool of cybercrime, gambling, and human trafficking.

Multiple reports claim that victims from over 20 countries have been trafficked into the Golden Triangle and forced to defraud people online. You'll see the same situation in parts of Malaysia and Vietnam, where each forced worker can siphon up to $42,000 a year from victims online. These fraud compounds are money-making machines. It's no wonder why the Lao government holds a 20% stake in the Golden Triangle.

They turn a blind eye to internationally trafficked victims and don't care when Laotian people are taken against their will, only to be ransomed back to their families. As if to rub salt in the wound, the Lao government recently awarded the Golden Triangle's chairman, Zhao Wei, the Medal of Bravery. Zhao is about as low as they come,

He's an internationally recognized criminal, known to traffic whatever he can get his hands on, including drugs, endangered animals, and people. In 2007, the government granted Zhao a 99-year lease over roughly 3,000 hectares in Boko, which eventually became the Golden Triangle.

Internationally, the triangle has been labeled a de facto Chinese colony, as Yuan and Tai Bot are the only accepted currencies. Since gambling is illegal in China, many Chinese aristocrats with skewed moral compasses use the triangle for pleasure.

whatever you want. No matter how illegal or inhumane it is, Xiaowei can likely get it for you. It's worth noting that he has always denied any involvement in criminal activity.

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On January 21st, around 6:00 AM, Nera and his friends hopped on a bus from Phnom Penh to Vietnam. About 10 minutes into that trip, some men on the bus demanded to see their passports and visas. They seemed like authority figures, but Nera wasn't sure. The men persisted, claiming they needed to hold on to the passports.

Nara was convinced the men were trying to rob them or traffic them, so he forced his friends off the bus. This was the turning point of their trip, the point at which everything went downhill until Nara wound up dead on an airport floor. Instead of taking another bus to Vietnam, Nara's crew changed plans and flew into Laos that night. From there, they were supposed to hang out in Laos for a few days, but Nara suddenly changed plans again.

He'd been texting his fiancée, Maureen, telling her that he was freaking out and that he wanted to come home. He told her how the people in the Laos airport were watching them and paging his name. He could overhear them talking about how they were going to screw them over on the flight. One of the last things Nara said to her was, "I need sleep." Nara vanished for a moment in the Laos airport. When his friends found him, he was holding a plane ticket to Canada.

He was going home, and he wanted Elliot and Trevor to come with him. A fight ensued. Nara kept talking about how something would happen to them, saying people were looking at them and talking about them. Elliot was getting frustrated. "Of course they're talking about us and looking at us," he said. "We're screaming at each other in the middle of an airport!" In the end, there was nothing his friends could say or do. Nara had made up his mind.

He took his ticket and bag and walked up a flight of stairs toward the terminal. "Safe journey, brother!" were the last words Elliot ever spoke to his best friend. Things only got worse for Nara now that he was alone in the airport. He called home, hoping to speak with his father, but nobody answered. That's when he left the messages about people watching him and trying to kill him. In one message, Nara says, "I'm in Laos, and they're trying to hurt me."

"I need help, Dad. Call the embassy, please." Unfortunately, there is no Canadian embassy in Laos. In another message, Nera suspects that bad-mouthing the Laotian prime minister put a target on his back. He said, "Apparently, I said something bad about Hun Sen or something, and everybody is trying to get me to leave the airport so they can kill me." According to his death certificate, Nera died around 3 a.m., from stab wounds to his neck and chest.

Authorities in Laos claim it was a suicide. In their version of the story, Nara went crazy and began breaking glass windows outside one of the airport restaurants. He picked up a shard and plunged it into his neck, causing him to bleed profusely on the floor and tables. He continued stabbing until he inevitably passed out and died. The Paich family didn't believe the Laotian story for a second. Nara wasn't that kind of person.

To this day, they're still trying to learn what really happened to him in that airport. Part 4: Suicide or Murder There are two sides to every story. Nera's is no different. So, let's dive into the evidence surrounding his mysterious death and see where we end up. Was it suicide or was it murder?

According to Nara's family, he never showed any signs of mental illness or instability. It didn't make sense that he'd suddenly suffer a mental health break so bad that it would drive him to stab himself. Luckily, they could move Nara's body to Thailand, where a more trusted autopsy could be performed. According to the results, Nara died from multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest. However, he also had defensive wounds on his arms and hands.

A toxicology report also came back clean: Nera didn't have any drugs or alcohol in his system when he died. Several people witnessed Nera's death, and CCTV cameras around the airport captured the whole thing. The Laotian government has refused to release that footage, and it's unclear if they ever spoke to those witnesses. Since working with the Laotians was impossible, Nera's family turned to the Canadians.

According to Nera's sister, they were stonewalled at every turn. Next, they turned to the Australians, who admitted to seeing the CCTV footage of Nera's death. During a recorded conversation, a representative from the Australian embassy said, "We've seen video footage. He was definitely very, very agitated."

The woman says how Nara used a chair and fire extinguisher to smash windows and display cases. However, she never shines a light on the moment he died. "I wish I could tell you," she said, "but we just don't know." Next, the family sought the help of a blood spatter expert who gleaned some new information from photos of Nara's death scene. According to him, the blood spread was too wide for self-inflicted wounds. The patterns were more indicative of an attack.

someone repeatedly stabbing Nera and then ripping the knife out. After months of pushing, Nera's family finally got their hands on his autopsy photos. According to a forensic pathologist who examined the images, there is no indication that the wounds were self-inflicted. He pointed specifically to the limited reddening around the wounds, suggesting Nera's blood pressure had dropped and he wasn't bleeding as much when he suffered those injuries. Of course, nothing is certain.

While it's highly unlikely that Nera's blood spatter pattern occurred as a result of suicide, it's not impossible. While it's highly unlikely that he suffered defense wounds while killing himself, it's not impossible. The only definitive proof is CCTV footage the Laotian government has but refuses to show. Until that footage comes out, nobody will ever know what happened to Nera Peitsch.

According to the Laotian government, Nara suffered a schizophrenic episode inside the airport. Even though Nara's family claims he never showed signs of mental illness, schizophrenia, specifically in young men, can develop and strike without warning. According to the Cleveland Clinic, schizophrenia typically develops in young men between the ages of 15 and 25. Nara was 28 when he died, meaning he was just outside the window.

but not by much. Some have questioned whether or not he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which is an outdated term, according to mental health experts. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association declared the term obsolete in 2013. Instead, they prefer to use the term psychosis as a subtype of schizophrenia. Those with a psychotic disorder have trouble differentiating between what's real and fake.

Unfortunately, those with schizophrenia can't typically recognize the symptoms themselves. It's up to their loved ones to identify the following signs: Delusions are perhaps the easiest to spot. Those with schizophrenia will hold onto false beliefs even when there's overwhelming evidence that they are wrong. Often, patients believe someone is secretly controlling their thoughts or actions.

Nera's belief that people in the airport were trying to kill him would be a prime example. Hallucinations tie into delusions. Perhaps Nera heard the hundreds of voices around him and hallucinated that they were talking about him. Disorganized and incoherent speaking are two more telltale signs.

Once they landed in Laos, Nara was frantic and talking erratically. He kept saying, "Something is going to happen, something is going to happen." But he could never say what. Regarding what causes schizophrenia, experts don't know. They suspect it occurs for several reasons, including chemical imbalances, prenatal development issues, and disconnect between different parts of the brain.

Two critical risk factors for schizophrenia play a significant role in Nara's story. They are environment and recreational drug use. Regarding the latter, schizophrenia has been linked to heavy marijuana use early in life, especially as a teenager. That said, experts don't know if marijuana is a direct cause or simply a contributing factor.

Regarding one's environment, extreme stress for long periods can have a role in triggering schizophrenia. This is where a condition known as Paris Syndrome comes into play. Paris Syndrome means severe culture shock. It's when you view a foreign place, like Paris, through rose-colored glasses. However, upon visiting that place, you realize it's not all it's cracked up to be. You feel let down and disappointed. You may feel depressed.

You may even experience hallucinations, a rapid heart rate, dizziness, and nausea. The first mention of Paris Syndrome as a disorder came from Japanese psychiatrist Dr. Hiroaki Ota in the 1980s. In Japanese pop culture, Paris is often portrayed as this perfect, idyllic place. But when Japanese tourists visit, they realize it's just like any other city on Earth.

Since the early 2000s, several Japanese tourists have landed in psychiatric clinics for treatment after a recent trip to Paris. While rare, it's common enough that the Japanese embassy in Paris has a 24-hour emergency hotline for those suffering from culture shock. Paris Syndrome isn't limited to Paris either. Similar psychiatric symptoms have popped up in people visiting Jerusalem and other holy places.

In Florence, Italy, vacationers have experienced paranoia and heart palpitations due to the overwhelming amount of art and history. Is it possible that Nera suffered his own type of Paris Syndrome during his Southeast Asian vacation? Did severe culture shock combined with drugs, alcohol, and a general lack of sleep push him into having a psychotic break? Again, without that CCTV footage, nobody will ever know.

As of 2024, Nera's family still doesn't have a definitive answer. There hasn't been any news regarding his case since he died in 2015. The Laotian government is sticking to their story. Nera Peitsch killed himself after suffering a schizophrenic episode. Don't ask any questions, or you might suffer one too.