Middleweight Junie Tizon, who quit after two rounds against Suriya in the final, would be awarded with the gold medal, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) spokesman Joey Romasanta.

Filipino fighters came home with one gold courtesy of lady boxer Annie Albania, their campaign marred by a controversy over officiating that nearly led to the country’s suspension.

The additional gold did not affect the standings with the Philippines remaining at sixth place with a 41-90-96 golds-silver-bronze tally.

Suriya was one of several athletes found to have failed the dope test. The list included Narcisa Atienza who was stripped of the bronze medal in heptathlon.

Aside from Suriya and Atienza, the other medalists who failed the dope tests are Thai Supachai Jitchamroon in volleyball, Vietnam’s lady boxer Dinh Thi Phoung Thanh and Malaysian polo player Dato Mohamed, 24th SEAG medical commission head Dr. Varin Tansupasiri told The Bangkok Post.

"They are stripped of their medals," said Charoen Wattanasin, a Thai representative in the SEAG Federation Council meeting told The Post. "But how long they will be banned depends on each international sports federation."

Contacted yesterday, Atienza’s coach Joseph Sy said they were not aware that the pain-killer administered by a Chinese doctor three days before their departure to Thailand contained a banned substance.

"The medicine even relieved Atienza of the pain that she had been feeling," said Sy. "Maybe it’s negligence and ignorance on our part but we did not do it to cheat or have an advantage over our rivals."

Sy said Atienza is sad that the medal had to be taken away from her but is "accepting the decision" of the SEAG Federation.

According to the Post, the drug test was given to 676 athletes.

The loss of the boxing gold hardly made a dent in Thailand’s collection with the host still on top with 182, followed by Malaysia (68), Vietnam (64) and Indonesia (56).

The sixth place finish is the worst ever placing by the country in the biennial sportsfest.

When Manila hosted the Games in 2005, it won the overall championship for the first time.

Meanwhile, the 25th Seag will be played from Dec. 13 to 21 in Vientiane, Laos with the exact number of sports to be played yet to be determined.

Laos said it could only accommodate 22 sports owing to the lack of facilities but member nations want it increased to 25.