Salem man dies in Philippines jail while on vacation

A Salem man died Nov. 19 in a Philippines jail, after reportedly telling police that he could not breathe.

Mark Pikl, 51, was on vacation visiting a friend in Cebu City, Philippines, when he was arrested and later died, according to family members.

Cebu City police have said there was no foul play in Pikl's death. An autopsy has yet to be conducted.

Pikl's family members dispute Philippine media reports that he went "wild" and "berserk" before dying. Skip Pikl, one of Mark Pikl's brothers, said the reports are "troubling."

Pikl, who was a veteran and retired correctional officer, would not have acted that way, his brother Brian Pikl said. Family members said Pikl walked in pain and was due to have surgery.

Richard Woodling, consul general at the Philippine Consulate General of Portland, said the circumstances around Pikl's death sound "rather suspicious."

An article from the Cebu City Sun Star newspaper said Pikl was arrested Wednesday after "getting wild" near a hotel in Fuente Osmeña. After his arrest, Pikl reportedly complained to police officers that he could not breathe.

Senior Inspector Hartzel Billedo, of Cebu City Police Station 2, said Pikl was given first aid and taken to a hospital, but he died before he could be admitted.

"We assure the public that there was no foul play," Billedo told reporters in Cebu City.

The cause of Pikl's death is under investigation.

Brian Pikl said Monday the family is working with the State Department and the American Consular Agency to conduct an autopsy and return Pikl's body to Oregon.

Skip Pikl said his brother Mark had many friends who were sad to hear of his death. Pikl recently mowed a neighbor's lawn as a good deed.

"It was just the kind of thing he did," he said.

The police station jail where Pikl died was the subject of attention earlier this year when an 11-year-old girl died after she was allegedly beaten and electrocuted while detained there. Officers at the jail faced murder charges in connection to the incident.

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