AUSTRALIAN crime and celebrity figure Mark Chopper Read is famed for his boozing and bad behaviour but the celebrity standover man claims he hasn't touched a drink in 18 months and is dying from cirrhosis.
Talking to ABC reporter Rebecca Levingston before a show at Narangba Tavern, north of Brisbane, on Wednesday night, a barely coherent Read claimed he had been diagnosed with the disease five years ago but said he had no plans for a liver transplant.
"I've got cirrhosis in the liver haven't had a drink in 18 months ... so (there's) no cure for that," he said.
"I'm not going to ask for a liver transplant. It's not fair. I'm 55 years old . . . I'm not going to put my name down against some 10-year-old or 12-year-old kid."
Read was described by the reporter as an "unsteady, sickly man who could barely keep his eyes open" and audience members later said he appeared to be suffering from a "nervous disorder", shuffling around on stage and muttering during his performance.
Read has also admitted in the past that he contracted hepatitis C from sharing razor blades in prison.
Melbourne-based Read was first diagnosed with cirrhosis five years ago.
He told the ABC that, when diagnosed, he was given between two and five years to live.
Talking to ABC reporter Rebecca Levingston before a show at Narangba Tavern, north of Brisbane, on Wednesday night, a barely coherent Read claimed he had been diagnosed with the disease five years ago but said he had no plans for a liver transplant.
"I've got cirrhosis in the liver haven't had a drink in 18 months ... so (there's) no cure for that," he said.
"I'm not going to ask for a liver transplant. It's not fair. I'm 55 years old . . . I'm not going to put my name down against some 10-year-old or 12-year-old kid."
Read was described by the reporter as an "unsteady, sickly man who could barely keep his eyes open" and audience members later said he appeared to be suffering from a "nervous disorder", shuffling around on stage and muttering during his performance.
Read has also admitted in the past that he contracted hepatitis C from sharing razor blades in prison.
Melbourne-based Read was first diagnosed with cirrhosis five years ago.
He told the ABC that, when diagnosed, he was given between two and five years to live.
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