Soldier drank himself to death, Wiltshire inquest hears

A Fijian soldier who died of alcohol poisoning after watching his country win a Rugby World Cup match had drunk enough to put him six times over the drink-drive limit, an inquest heard yesterday.

Private Naivote Tuisavura, 24, passed out and died at his best friend's house near barracks in Wiltshire after drinking lager, 40 per cent proof Fijian rum, and the legal hallucinogenic cava root extract.

Pte Tuisavura, described as a good soldier, was involved in a two-day drinking binge that began on the night of Saturday, September 15 last year and continued through to Fiji's win over Canada at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on the following day.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, County Coroner David Masters said the incident involving several Fijian soldiers was "very stupid".

Pte Tuisavura, who was single, and some comrades from 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment had gone to Pte Netava Lagilagi's house near the Tidworth base to watch the match armed with two crates of lager.

They also drank the strong Fijian rum, and what was later found to be the boiled down extract of cava root, which contributed to depressing Pte Tuisavura's nervous system.

Pte Lagilagi agreed with the coroner that Pte Tuisavura, his best friend, and many of the group were "pretty out of it" by 9 or 10pm.

Before he passed out in the lounge, Pte Tuisavura had had a brawl with another soldier in the regiment, Pte Watisone Batiate, although his minor injuries did not contribute to his death.

Pte Lagilagi told the inquest in Salisbury, Wiltshire: "The next thing I remember was being woken the following morning. My wife told me that she had found me in the bathroom and had put me in the spare room.

"At 7am I was woken by another friend who was clearly upset and wanted me to come and look because he thought there was something wrong with Naivote."

His friend was lying on his side on the living room floor by the settee, with his face "grey and purple".

Paramedics certified him dead at the scene.

The coroner said to Pte Lagilagi: "I suppose with hindsight you all regret that very stupid incident which led to his death."

Pte Lagilagi said he did.

Home Office pathologist Dr Hugh White found that Pte Tuisavura had consumed 492mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood adding that just half that level was enough to be fatal.

Botany experts at Kew Gardens identified the cava root, which grows in the South Pacific and is rare here.

Dr White said: "It is prepared as a liquid. It seems to have mild hallucinogenic properties. We don't see much of it in the UK.

"As a combined mechanism, it could potentially aggravate the depression of the nervous system."

The friends were not used to regular heavy drinking and Pte Tuisavura's tolerance levels could not withstand the "extreme" amount he put into his body that night, he said.

After the hearing Captain James Ballard denied there being any problem with drinking at the barracks.

He said: "The Army has a duty of care towards all of its soldiers. We encourage everyone to drink responsibly and we enforce that.

"This was a very close-knit regiment. Everyone who knew him (Pte Tuisavura) said he was a good soldier."