Man chokes to death in KFC chicken eating contest in Indonesia

A nationwide chicken eating contest at fast-food outlet KFC in Indonesia has been cancelled after a contestant choked to death on a chicken wing.

The contest offered a prize of $1 billion rupiah (£5,263), and Mr Jayadi had reached the elimination round. The contest has now been cancelled

Fredy Jayadi, 45, died after attempting to eat three wings in under five minutes at the restaurant in West Jakarta.

Mr Jayadi was taken to hospital after beginning to choke on his third wing. He drank water to try to stop choking, but later collapsed, and was pronounced dead by paramedics.

The 'Eat or Treat' contest offered a prize of $1 billion rupiah (£5,263), and Mr Jayadi had reached the elimination round, reported the IB Times. 

But the entire competition, which ran across 239 KFC outlets across Java and Bali, has now been cancelled by organisers O2 Accion. 

A statement from O2 Accion read: 'We are fully supporting the Jayadi family and as well as 

cooperating with inquiries from the authorities.'

The company said the event was organised solely by them.

Abdul Wahab, Public Relations Officer for KFC Indonesia, said: 'We just provided the venue. That was the deal we had with the organiser.'

O2 Accion's chief programming officer, Budi Raharja Sulaiman, described the death, which happened on March 11, as a 'pure accident'.

He said that before the contest began, participants signed a letter declaring they were healthy.

The grand final of the contest was scheduled to take place in July, according to @Menang5Miliar (win five billion), a promotion Twitter account set up by organisers. The eventual winner stood to win £267,700.

Local police now say they are investigating the death, and whether the organisers had taken sufficient care of the contestants' safety.

Criminal unit police chief Taufik Iksan confirmed: 'We are interviewing all witnesses, contestants, audience members and the organisers.'

He told local media: 'One of our findings is that the organisers failed to provide medical personnel.

'We are also waiting for autopsy results.'

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