A South Korean missionary died in the Chinese border city of Dandong last month after suddenly collapsing, a South Korean official said Friday.

The 46-year-old missionary, identified by his family name Han, fell to the ground while foaming at the mouth as he waited for a taxi in the city‘s downtown area on Aug. 21, according to the official of the South Korean Consulate in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.

Chinese doctors speculated that Han could have been poisoned, but an autopsy found no poison in his body.

Chinese authorities proposed performing a detailed autopsy again to try to determine the exact cause of his death, but his remains returned home early this month after being cremated at his family’s request.

Some South Koreans in Dandong raised the possibility that Han could have been murdered, citing he showed signs of poisoning when he collapsed.

Still, the South Korean consulate official said autopsy results indicated that he was not poisoned. He asked not to be identified, citing the issue‘s sensitivity. 

(Yonhap News)