Woman who sought Thai 'ozone therapy' dies

A New Zealand woman who travelled to Thailand for a bogus cancer cure which made her so sick she passed out, has died.

Melissa Taylor, 33, a mother of two of Christchurch died in hospital on Tuesday, The Press reported today.

Mrs Taylor had a rare adrenal cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs.

Mrs Taylor's condition was brought into the spotlight after she sought treatment from Hellfried Sartori, an Austrian citizen.

Sartori was arrested at his home in Chiang Mai after treating Mrs Taylor with "liquid ozone" in Chiang Mai.

Sartori also administered his special treatment in hotel rooms in Chiang Mai, or instructed "patients" via the internet on how they should self-administer his cancer "cures".

Mrs Taylor's relatives, who witnessed the treatment, said Sartori used a syringe to withdraw liquid from a small metal cylinder, then injected three doses into Ms Taylor, in veins in her chest and neck. She passed out after the injections on June 22.

She was rushed to the intensive care unit of Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital, where she spent two weeks recovering, and was discharged on July 4 to return to New Zealand.

Sartori served two prison terms in the United States -- in New York state in May 1992 and in Washington DC in July 1998 -- after administering his so-called "ozone treatments", Thai police said.

His websites claim the ozone treatment cures everything from Aids and cancer to allergies and hardening of the arteries. It consists of injections of "liquid ozone", usually into a vein.

Thai police have charged him with fraud and falsely claiming to be a medical doctor .

Sartori could be jailed for up to five years if convicted of falsely representing himself as a doctor and fraudulently inducing an American man to pay him a deposit of A$30,000 ($37,000) for treatment which he never received.

Sartori denies any wrongdoing.

- NZPA