Kuala Lumpur  - A Malaysian man died from consuming weed killer after he lost 90,000 ringgit (26,470 dollars) in bets on a Euro 2008 football match, a news report said Thursday.

Chuang Toh Huat, 31, consumed the herbicide hours after the quarterfinal match that pitted Spain against Italy early Monday local time, the Star daily said. Spain won in a penalty shootout.

Family members, who described Chuang as a gambling addict, told the newspaper that they found him unconscious late Monday and immediately sent him to hospital where he died hours later.

"I have given more than 1 million ringgit to pay off his debts, and he promised he wouldn't do it again," Chuang's father, Hock Meng, was quoted as saying.

"Lately, with the Euro 2008 in full swing, he went back to his bad habit without us realising it," he told the daily.

Chuang's mother told reporters that her son called her after consuming the weed killer, saying that he could not repay his gambling debts.

Betting on football matches is illegal in Malaysia, but illegal syndicates still thrive during football season, collecting millions of US dollars during international football tournaments. (dpa)