Thai worker dies in his sleep in Taiwan

Taipei (dpa) - Taiwan police are investigating the death of a Thai worker who died mysteriously in his sleep in a suspected case of Nightmare Death Syndrome, common in Thailand, the Central News Agency (CNA) said Thursday.

Adul Phanakan, 41, a newly arrived worker at a factory in Chiayi in central Taiwan, died Wednesday after screaming loudly in his sleep, CNA said

Chiayi police plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of the death of Phanakan, who was strong and in good health.

Phanakan's death is similar to that of dozens of young Thai workers who were also in good health and also died in their sleep with loud screams.

Nightmare Death Syndrome is recognized as a leading cause of death in young men in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan, but the largest number of such deaths occur in north-east Thailand.

Spanish doctor Pedro Brugada discovered the cause of such deaths in 1986, linking them to an irregular heart beat that causes the chambers of the heart to pump out of sequence, halting blood circulation.

In Thailand, folklore has long held a different cause - widow ghosts. These ghosts are said to snatch the souls of young men when they are asleep.

To avoid nightmare death, some Thai men paint their fingernails red or wear lipstick at night to trick the widow ghosts into believing they are women and not men.