Nonthaburi’s Sutin Survives Bee Swarm Drama in Mueang Thong Thani

Yesterday afternoon in the bustling village of Mueang Thong Thani, nestled within Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district, a peculiar drama unfolded. Sutin, a 54-year-old motorcycle taxi driver and part-time caretaker of a local fruit orchard, found himself starring in an unanticipated and somewhat stingy encounter with nature—quite literally! As the setting sun cast a warm glow over the village, Sutin was unexpectedly besieged by a formidable swarm of bees.

The tale of Sutin’s plight began innocuously enough. It was just another day as he set out to gather firewood from a shrine some 200 meters from his makeshift rest area. But as he chopped the wood to kindle a cooking fire, he inadvertently disturbed a few bee resentful neighbors. Unfortunately for Sutin, their numbers swelled into a full-on battalion soon after he lit the fire.

Besieged by bees numbering between 70 and 100, Sutin quickly transformed into an unconventional beekeeper of sorts, donning a nylon mosquito net for protection. Despite his barrier of netting, the bees were intrepid, pursuing him down the bustling streets to the entrance of Soi 16, where the affair attracted quite an audience.

Around 5:30 p.m., the commotion reached the ears of the Poh Teck Tung Foundation’s volunteer radio center. With urgency, the rescue team—dressed like space explorers with protective gear—descended upon the scene. Their tools of negotiation? A can of insecticide spray and stick of persuasion. Slowly but surely, the bees retreated, leaving Sutin finally free to escape their relentless stingers.

Befitting such an ordeal, Sutin was tended to by medics on the spot. Despite the repeated jabs to his head, arms, torso, and abdomen, which left painful barbs as souvenirs under his skin, Sutin demurred a trip to the hospital. The seasoned caretaker claimed an unexpected advantage—he had developed a natural immunity from past encounters and was showing no signs of allergic demise.

Eyeing the creativity of nature but preferring simpler pursuits, Acharawan, a local resident, had first taken notice of the unusual scene from her house. She later recounted the sight of Sutin, swathed in his ‘beekeeping gear,’ sitting on the pavement under siege. Local shopkeepers confirmed what appeared to be more of an Olympic marathon than a bee chase, with Sutin and his convoy of bees running laps since the early afternoon. Even good-natured allies trying to assist him were given a stingy reminder of why they should think twice.

Undeterred by his war wounds, Sutin opted not to take up residence in a hospital bed but instead, to revisit his own lodgings…with caution. Unsure whether his unauthorized timber requisition from the shrine might have invoked greater forces—or as he whimsically postulated, whether he had triggered an omen—Sutin figured a temporary relocation was in order.

As the drama petered out and the bees reluctantly returned to their less-than-cumbersome hives, the scene that initially resembled a peculiar chapter from a naturalist’s diary slowly diffused back into the stillness of the evening. With the enduring kindness of neighbors overcoming nature’s little spat, Sutin’s adventure served as an unwitting heads-up: in Nonthaburi, the buzz isn’t always about news—it might just drop in unannounced on a warm May afternoon!