appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

Thai authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating a Bangkok clinic where a Nigerian-born British businessman and influencer underwent a penis enlargement procedure that led to his death.
A coroner in London last month ruled that the March 6 death of Igho Ubiribo, 43, in the Thai capital was caused by the hyaluronic acid injection he received hours earlier.
The case has reignited debate about medical tourism, with Thailand a leading destination for visitors from abroad seeking healthcare, including aesthetic procedures.
Ubiribo, reportedly known as “Tiny” and “Ego”, had 185,000 followers on Instagram, regularly posting pictures with his wife Danielle enjoying a luxury lifestyle.
Thailand’s health ministry ordered an investigation into his death and officials on Monday visited the central Bangkok clinic where Ubiribo was treated.
Authorities are looking into whether it holds a valid licence and followed health and safety protocols, a health ministry official said.
He was having a massage after receiving the filler when he complained of chest pains and collapsed, according to an August report from the UK coroner, which formally determines cause of death.
He was taken by ambulance to hospital, suspected of having a pulmonary embolism, but lost consciousness before he could have a CT scan.
Doctors tried to resuscitate him for over 100 minutes but he was declared dead around 1am.
“Postmortem examination and toxicology determined the cause of death to be due to the hyaluronic acid injection,” the report said.

Senior Bangkok police official Utit Soodjai said his officers were also investigating.
“When it comes to medical procedures, we advocate for the highest level of caution,” Thai Health Minister Pattana Promphat told reporters.
The investigation was intended “to ensure fairness for everyone and to reassure both local and international patients that they are receiving safe, high-standard and valuable care in Thailand”, he added in a statement.
According to the health ministry, the clinic’s managers said Ubiribo had been a regular patient since 2024 and had undergone five penile enlargement injections.
The first four procedures took place in 2024 and 2025, while on his fifth visit on March 5, he received 40 millilitres of filler.
The doctor had recommended splitting the procedure into two sessions, but Ubiribo requested that the entire amount be injected in one session, clinic management told investigators.
Hyaluronic acid fillers are widely used in aesthetic medicine, considered minimally invasive and relatively low risk.
Thailand has a reputation for excellent healthcare and has long been a centre for medical tourism, while the aesthetic market is booming.
As of 2024, official figures showed it had 7,000 aesthetic clinics, including 2,000 in Bangkok, and forecast a market worth US$7.51 billion in 2027 – three times the size in 2020.


Thailand’s Nene Royal wins America’s Got Talent, pocketing US$1 million

Indonesia commissions first aircraft carrier, bolstering sea defence

King of Thailand’s estranged son appeals to return home for urgent brain surgery

Thailand

Thailand probes clinic linked to UK influencer’s penile filler death

British influencer Igho Ubiribo. Photo: Instagram/danisimbaallen

Billboards feature advertisements for beauty clinics in central Bangkok. Photo: Tibor Krausz

How US military presence spurred Pattaya’s rise into Thailand’s city of pleasure

Pedestrians walk past a LED display welcoming the arrival of US service personnel of the USS Abraham Lincoln in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

The USS Abraham Lincoln is seen docked at Laem Chabang Port, near the Thai city of Pattaya, on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln leave a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Hostesses advertise discounts to US service members of the USS Abraham Lincoln at Walking Street in Pattaya on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Termsak’s friend Nit Duangdee painting an American soldier in the early 1970s in Thailand. Photo: Handout

Move over K-beauty, Thailand is the next big thing in aesthetics

Shoppers look at beauty products at a store in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

A Thai therapist gives facial treatment of deep laser stimulation to a client at a spa in central Bangkok. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Igho Ubiribo’s death from a penis enlargement procedure at a Bangkok clinic has sparked medical tourism safety concerns in Thailand


Igho Ubiribo’s death from a penis enlargement procedure at a Bangkok clinic has sparked medical tourism safety concerns in Thailand.


Britain

Icons and Influencers

Nigeria

Thailand probes clinic linked to UK influencer’s penile filler death

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Igho Ubiribo’s death from a penis enlargement procedure at a Bangkok clinic has sparked medical tourism safety concerns in Thailand

Igho Ubiribo’s death from a penis enlargement procedure at a Bangkok clinic has sparked medical tourism safety concerns in Thailand