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'Human piggy bank' spills all in Thailand

   September 01 2004 at 10:30AM

Bangkok - It was almost like breaking open a piggy bank.

Doctors performing emergency surgery on a man who was rushed to hospital writhing in pain were stunned when more than two kilograms of loose change spilled out of his stomach.

Sanguan Pongsawat, 37, who has a history of mental disorders, was operated on in the northern town of Payao on Tuesday, said Dr Sakchai Athawiboon of the Payao hospital.

Sakchai said that Sanguan, who lived with his mother, had been swallowing the coins for a long time without her knowledge.

"He is in safe condition. But he has to be in the hospital for some time in case of side effects because the metal coins had been in his body for a long time," Sakchai said on Wednesday.

The coins had turned black from stomach acid.

Sanguan was in excruciating pain on Tuesday and was taken to a hospital, where an X-ray showed hard objects in his stomach. They weren't identified until the surgery.

Payao is about 600km north of Bangkok. - Sapa-AP