Bouncer 'laughs in man's face' after pal drinks 22 shots and dies in strip club
A British man has claimed a bouncer laughed in his face when his 36-year-old friend was forced to down 22 shots in a Polish strip club - from which he later died.
Mark Cocks was on holiday in Krakow, the second-largest city in the country, in 2017 when he was allegedly targeted by a gang that specialises in robbing tourists at Wild Night Club.
Police have made seven arrests over his death, but the investigation is ongoing and there is still some mystery around the incident.
Mark's school friend Steven Skiba, who was on holiday with him, said a bouncer laughed in his face and told him: "Your friend is dead."
Mark was forced to down 22 shots at the strip club (Evening Gazette)
Mark Cocks pictured with his grandmother (Evening Gazette)The 40-year-old father-of-two, who works as a fisherman in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, said the decision to go on a trip to Poland was "completely spur of the moment", as at the time they were both single and wanted to take some time off work.
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Mr Skiba said the two friends were aware of the risk of pickpocketing in Polish nightclubs, so they decided to just take the right amount of cash with them to avoid being robbed.
He said that the night before Mark tragically died, they had been dragged into the same club, and despite being "pestered" to stay, they decided to go home after having one drink.
He added he felt sick all night and thought his drink had been spiked - and despite not feeling like going out the following night, he accepted to do so as he did not want to ruin his friend's trip.
Mr Skiba said initially they went to the main square but all the bars were "quite posh" and they wanted something more casual.
Mark's funeral was held at St. Leonard's Church in Loftus, Yorkshire (Evening Gazette)After walking around the side street, they passed in front of the strip club where the guy outside insisted on them going in - and once inside, they were hounded into staying even though they wanted to leave.
He said the pair were taken past the bar, down a corridor where curtained booths and they were each put into a different booth.
Mr Skiba told MailOnline: "I couldn't see Mark anywhere. Then two other men came out of the corridor, falling all over the place. They were sliding down the walls. I'd never seen anything like it. They couldn't stand up. They just kept collapsing. They were saying over and over again 'no, this is wrong, these girls just rob'.
"I started getting really worried for Mark. My phone had died, so I asked a guy if I could use his phone to send him a Facebook message. I wrote: 'Get out of there right now - they're robbing you'. I have no idea if he ever saw that message.'"
Friends and family gathered to pay tribute to Mark (Evening Gazette)He then exited the club and stopped a police car but said they "laughed" at him before a man from a shop nearby said the officers were part of "Polish mafia".
Mr Skiba said two bouncers who were guarding the corridor would not let him through to see his friend and just kept trying to sell him drinks.
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Shortly after, he saw two strippers running to the bar area "screaming and crying" before noticing paramedics doing CPR on someone's chest.
When he asked bouncers if it was Mark, initially he was told he was fine before they told him he was dead.
Mr Skiba said: "Then the two bouncers came out laughing and joking. I said to one of them 'is my friend okay?'. He looked at me, laughed and said 'your friend is dead'.
"I just fell to the floor on my hands and knees. I was in complete shock."
He denied the Polish investigators' claims that Mark was drunk when they entered the club saying they had only had a pint beforehand and were completely fine.
Some mourners wore Leeds shirts as Mark was a huge football fan (Evening Gazette)Mr Skiba said: "Mark wasn't in the booth for very long so they must have forced the stuff down his throat or laced it with drugs."
He also added his friend's death has tortured him every day since and he now wishes they had chosen Amsterdam as their holiday destination instead.
It comes after Mark's sister said that despite the past and ongoing arrests, the family was told nobody was being held accountable for her brother's death.
Mark, from Loftus, Yorkshire, was left with a lethal blood alcohol level at the time of his death after being forced to drink 22 shots, according to Poland National Prosecutor's Office.
She told The Sun: "The last we heard from the serious crime squad - who were investigating Mark's death and dealing with the inquest - was that they weren't looking into the crimes and goings on in those establishments.
"So why is this coming out now?"
She also claims parts of the police account are untrue, including the allegation that Mark was drunk when he arrived at the club.
Samantha commented on the club's review page: "My brother's death in this vile establishment needs to be made aware of!"
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