EXCLUSIVE
An Australian woman who police had to cart back to her hostel after a night of heavy drinking in Thailand is a hospitality worker from Victoria.
Tahli Benson, 19, from the Geelong region, and her German friend Sina Baumann, 23, were partying on Koh Phi Phi in Krabi on November 29 when they passed out after indulging in a bar .
Authorities intervened after worried partygoers failed to wake them up, with viral footage showing Senior Sergeant Saneh Jualaong carrying the couple back to their accommodation in a trolley he borrowed from a nearby shop.
The incident came just weeks after warnings about methanol drinks in Southeast Asia following the deaths of six tourists in Laos.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Ms Benson, who is from the Bellarine Peninsula, is a hospitality worker at a local resort.
She is also a talented footballer who played for the Drysdale Hawks Football Club.
The video shows the friends on the tram, slumped as they were taken back to their hostel. The attentive official cautiously maneuvered the two-wheeled cart to prevent it from falling.
Later, their friends helped carry the couple to their rooms and onto their bunk beds, and the kind officer placed a blanket over one of them.
Tahli Benson, 19, is a hospitality worker from the Geelong region of Victoria.
Mrs. Benson (right) and Mrs. Baumann (left) had to be taken by tram to their hotel rooms after getting too drunk.
The officer then informed lobby staff of the friends’ return. The hotel owner thanked him for taking care of the girls.
Senior Sergeant Saneh Jualaong said after helping women in Thailand return home: ‘I know what it’s like to have a daughter and how much we care about them. I thought about his parents at home.
“They were both too drunk to talk and too drunk to get up. In these conditions they could suffer an accident, such as falling into the sea or falling down stairs.
“I made sure they returned safely to their beds.”
Police Colonel Surasak Jaidee, superintendent of Koh Phi Phi police station, added: “As for why he used a tram, it was because all the routes on Koh Phi Phi are for walking, so we couldn’t use a car.” .
«The motorcycle could not transport the unconscious passengers either, so he had to use the cart.
‘This is not the first time the police have helped drunk tourists. They have been doing this for more than two years.
‘We understand that they come to the island to have fun. We don’t want to punish them. “We better be there to help and protect them.”
A police sergeant helped the girls return to their accommodation and told the staff
Authorities said this was not the first time they had been forced to intervene and help drunk tourists.
Last year, police officers at Patong Police Station implemented a similar security measure, offering assistance to drunk tourists by ensuring they were transported safely to their accommodation.
This initiative is credited with helping prevent accidents and other alcohol-related incidents in the region.
The Ministry of Public Health previously suggested that nightclubs that want to extend their operating hours should implement breathalyzer tests for customers before leaving and arrange transportation services, if necessary, as part of efforts to improve patron safety. tourists.
Southeast Asia attracts millions of tourists every year to enjoy the culture, history and nightlife.
But concerns are growing about the safety of foreign visitors after the reported deaths of six backpackers from drinks contaminated with methanol alcohol in Laos last month.
Among the victims were Australian teenagers Bianca Jones, 19, and Holly Bowles, 19, British lawyer Simone White, 28, Danish backpackers Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Frela Vennervald Sorensen, 21 years old, and the American James Louis Hutson, 57 years old.
The victims had allegedly drunk mixed shots of vodka at the Nana backpacker hostel, raising concerns for the safety of foreign travelers in Southeast Asia.
Nana Backpackers hotel manager Duong Duc Toan and bartender Toan Van Vanng denied diluting their alcohol with methanol when questioned.
Ms. Benson played for the Drysdale Hawks football club, where she earned the 2021 Coaches Award for outstanding performance.
Six people, including 19-year-old Australian Bianca Jones (pictured), died after consuming suspected “methanol” drinks in Laos.
The victims were staying at Nana’s Backpackers Hoste (pictured) in Vang Vieng.
Toan was later arrested, but no charges have been filed. The Lao government vowed to “bring the perpetrators to justice” in its first public statements on the international incident.
Toan said he purchased the alcohol from a certified distributor and that free shots of Tiger Vodka had been served to about 100 guests.
He said he had not yet received complaints from other backpackers who received injections that night.
He also drank from one of the vodka bottles used that night to prove it was safe.
As investigations continue, authorities have made more arrests, including several shelter staff as well as the factory owner identified as the suspected source of the deadly drinks.
The manufacturing plant is located on the outskirts of the capital city, Vientiane, and is understood to have made local Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey.
Global statistics reveal 58 incidents of methanol poisoning in the past 12 months, affecting more than 1,200 people and causing more than 400 deaths.
Methanol is a colorless liquid that tastes similar to alcohol and is a byproduct of bootleg liquor.
Consuming even a small amount can cause blindness, multiple organ failure, and death.