Pictured: Man, 23, who died of suspected drug overdose at music festival


A 23-year-old man suspected of overdosing at a Sydney music festival at the weekend has been identified.

Joseph Pham, from Edensor Park in Sydney’s west, did not recover after a suspected drug overdose at the Defqon.1 festival on Saturday.

An overdose is also suspected to have also claimed the life of 21-year-old Melbourne woman.

A 28-year-old woman was said to be critical at Nepean Hospital but on Monday her condition had changed to stable, along with another man at Westmead.

Joseph Pham (pictured), 23, from Edensor Park in Sydney’s west died from a suspected drug overdose at Defqon .1 festival in Sydney. Source: 7 News
Joseph Pham (pictured), 23, from Edensor Park in Sydney’s west died from a suspected drug overdose at Defqon .1 festival in Sydney. Source: 7 News

A second man remains critical at Liverpool Hospital.

Drug reformers have called for mandatory pill testing at events similar to Defqon.1, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has ruled that out.

Greens Senator Richard di Natale described drug overdose deaths as “needless”.

“They’re entirely preventable and the premier of NSW should be held accountable,” he said.

Two people have died on Saturday night while attending Defqon.1 in Sydney’s west. Source: Defqon.1 Australia 2018
Two people have died on Saturday night while attending Defqon.1 in Sydney’s west. Source: Defqon.1 Australia 2018

But the NSW Premier did vow to shut the festival down.

“I’m absolutely aghast at what’s occurred. I don’t want any family to go through the tragedy that some families are waking up to this morning,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Sunday.

“This is an unsafe event and I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure it never happens again.”