The grieving parents of a young tourist have halted their pursuit of answers regarding the tragic death of their only child, who died alone in a Bali party hostel while other guests were hospitalized.
Deqing Zhuoga, aged 24, passed away in her dormitory at the Clandestino Hostel in Canggu, which charges $9 per night. The hostel was undergoing fumigation for a bed bug infestation, raising concerns about poisoning as a possible cause. However, The Daily Mail has confirmed that no pesticides were detected in her system.
Heartbroken, her family claims they never received any notification from the hostel, local authorities, or the Chinese Embassy about their daughter’s untimely death.
Instead, they found themselves posting missing person notices on social media, pleading for information, until a compassionate local stepped forward to inform them of the tragic event.
Unable to speak English, the parents later turned to monks in China for guidance and have since stopped seeking further information, fearing it might disturb their daughter’s journey into the afterlife.
In line with their cultural beliefs, any form of conflict could burden her spirit, and they believe that allowing her to transition peacefully is their final tribute to her memory.
Her furious friends, however, along with other hostel guests who survived what still appears to be a mass poisoning, have vowed to continue their fight to shut the hostel down, convinced that more lives will be lost if it remains open.
‘She was such an amazing friend and had so many cool plans,’ her friend Ms Avo told The Daily Mail. ‘It can’t just end like this it’s so unfair.’
Deqing Zhuoga died in her Bali accommodation, which was being fumigated for bed bugs
Ms Zhuoga, 24, was found unresponsive at the $9-a-night Clandestino Hostel in Canggu,
She said they are calling on the government to crack down on the dangers tourists are exposed to on the island, claiming that incidents like this are ‘happening almost everyday in Bali.’
Ms Zhuoga collapsed after falling violently ill on August, 31, just days after the hostel had been fumigated for a raging bedbug outbreak that had triggered months of furious online complaints.
Around twenty guests began vomiting with at least ten having to seek medical treatment and one admitted to ICU fighting for her life.
Ms Zhuoga was found unresponsive in her dorm by hotel staff on September, 2, at 11am and pronounced dead.
Her family in China had no idea she was even ill, but they hadn’t heard from her since August, 31, so were already deeply worried.
Their calls and messages went unanswered and unable to speak English to talk to Bali locals or other tourists, her parents asked Ms Zhuoga’s cousin to help.
Her cousin quickly began contacting friends and posting to social media with pleas for information, eventually working out her last known location was the hostel.
On September 6, four days after her death, she sent a desperate message via social media asking whether Ms Zhuoga was still staying there.
Several guests collapsed with vomiting and chills at Canggu’s Clandestino Hostel
Ms Zhuoga’s cousin began sending messages to try to find her
It was not until the next day that the hostel replied, but instead of explaining the devastating situation or requesting contact details so authorities could speak with the family, they simply told them to reach out to the police and offered no further help.
The message read: ‘Dear Madam, We understand you are looking for Deqing and this must be very worrying for you.
‘The police have been involved in a matter concerning her, and they will need to be the ones to provide you with any information.
‘We recommend contacting the local police or embassy for all and any information.
‘Unfortunately the police have not shared details regarding her case so we are unable to give more information at this time. Regards, Clandestino.’
Ms Avo has slammed the hostels response, saying they did not offer any contact details for the local police which left the family with no idea who to approach.
She said the parents had already contacted the embassy, but received no information because the hostel had reported her nationality incorrectly.
It was only when the family found a local willing to help that a staff member quietly confirmed what had happened.
Friend Ms Avo has slammed the hostel’s response
Officials moved her body to two different morgues without telling the family
Her parents then began the painstaking task of locating her body as it had been moved twice to different morgues with no ID.
‘They do not even speak English, probably this does not even make any sense to them,’ Ms Avo said. ‘They just saw what happened to their daughter and now they have to accept it which is so hard.
‘Their heart is broken, putting all efforts to raise her up and prepare everything for the only child. But I understand they just want peace now.’
The head of Badung Police’s investigation unit, First Inspector Azarul Ahmad, said on Wednesday that witnesses had been interviewed and Ms Zhuoga’s vomit was examined by Denpasar Forensic Laboratory.
‘There where no pesticide compounds, narcotics, cyanide, heavy metals such as arsenic, hazardous chemicals, or methanol detected,’ he said.
An examination of the medicines and food items in her bag was pending, he said, and while autopsy had found no signs of violence on her body, it did show telltale signs of food poisoning
‘The exact cause of death cannot be definitively determined. however, death due to gastrointestinal irritation leading to diarrhea, which resulted in dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, cannot be ruled out,’
According to the police report Ms Zhuoga was initially taken to a doctor by hostel staff, but they claim she expressed concerns about paying for treatment and was returned to her dorm.
According to the police report Ms Zhuoga was initially taken to a doctor by hostel staff
The following morning, receptionist Eka Ayu discovered she had not checked out.
She unlocked the door and found the young woman face down, wearing only an unbuttoned blue shirt.
Police found vomit in a rubbish bin beside the bed and a post mortem by Dr Marcell concluded her death from acute gastroenteritis and hypovolemic shock would likely have been preventable with proper medical treatment.
Ms Zhuoga had shared a communal dinner hours earlier with fellow guest Leila Li who survived after spending five days in intensive care.
Shortly after the dinner, guests began collapsing in hallways, vomiting blood, fainting and begging staff for medical help.
More than twenty people suffered collective poisoning and at least ten were in critical condition.
By morning the sickness had ripped through the dorms with multiple guests admitted to local medical centres and the BIMC hospital.
Ms Li said by the time she was taken away in an ambulance her roommate was too ill to move and that she ‘messaged her from hospital telling her to go too,’ but she never replied.
Rooms were sealed after more than twenty people suffered collective poisoning
Ms Li said by the time she was taken away in an ambulance her roommate was too ill to move
‘My doctor confirmed it was pesticide poisoning and food poisoning, she said.
‘I improved when I left the hostel, but when I returned to the room the symptoms came back.
She said Ms Zhuoga mentioned that an adjacent dorm had recently been closed for fumigation after a severe bedbug infestation.
Ms Li along with travellers Melanie Irene, Alisa Kokonozi, Alahmadi Yousef Mohammed, Cana Clifford Jay and Leslie Zhao were later listed as victims in the official Kuta Police report.
Inspector Ahmad has confirmed that due to so many guests experiencing identical symptoms the hostel will be subject to further investigation, but survivors say authorities have been far too slow and fear more travellers could be hurt.
‘They are trying to cover it up and I want to warn people so this does not happen again,’ Ms Li said.
