Whispers of incense, a clink of cash, and a courtroom-ready shuffle of paperwork: Wat Phrabat Nampu in Lop Buri has suddenly traded its usual peaceful chants for headline-ready controversy. At the centre of the swirl are the temple’s abbot, Phra Alongkot, and a well-known spiritual medium, Sakesan “Bee” Bubsuebsakun — both pointing fingers, both promising explanations, and neither yet clearing the air. The drama began with missing donation money supposedly collected for AIDS patients under the temple’s care. Alongkot says Bee’s own secretary told him Bee withdrew 2.3 million baht from the temple donation account but handed only 2 million baht to the abbot — a discrepancy that naturally set off alarm bells. Alongkot was keen to stress he wasn’t publicly labelling Bee an embezzler; he simply asked Bee to explain the cash shortfall to both him and the public. But this is not a plot that stays tidy. Bee,…
Posts published in “Thailand”
A surreal scene unfolded on a busy Pattaya street when a British motorcyclist deliberately impeded a Sawang Borriboon Dhammastan Foundation rescue van that was racing a patient to hospital — then flipped off the rescuers before crashing into another motorbike. The man, later identified by police as Holloway, later told officers he had been startled by the siren. The dashcam footage tells a much louder story. The rescue team had sped to a community near the land office after a call reporting a person who had lost consciousness following a near-drowning. Time was clearly of the essence. As the team tried to weave through traffic with lights flashing and horn blaring, Holloway began swerving his motorcycle in front of the van, repeatedly cutting it off and riding erratically from one side of the lane to the other. Video captured from the van shows the tense choreography: rescuers flashing lights and…
Thailand has just snagged top honors for cultural heritage in Asia and placed eighth in the world, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2024 rankings — an accolade announced by government spokesperson Sasikarn Wattanachan on August 11. The ranking evaluated 89 countries across five key pillars: cultural accessibility, historical depth, cuisine, cultural attractions, and geographical allure. For a country where tourism contributes roughly 7% of GDP, this recognition is less a surprise and more a celebratory confirmation: Thailand’s soft power is alive, colorful, and drawing visitors from every corner of the globe. Why Thailand’s cultural pull is impossible to ignore Think of Thailand and images flood in: gilded temples glinting at sunrise, night markets trading in fragrant spices and sizzling street food, centuries-old ruins that whisper stories of lost kingdoms, and the gentle hands of traditional Thai massage easing away jet-lag and stress. These aren’t just travel clichés…
Samut Prakan — A tense relationship, a bottle of bathroom cleaner, and a busy shopping mall bathroom collided in dramatic fashion on the morning of August 10, when a 19-year-old woman allegedly attacked her ex-boyfriend in Bang Phli district. By day’s end, the suspect, known only as Mew, had surrendered to police, and a swirl of hurt feelings, financial disputes, and accusations had come to light—painting a picture of a young couple’s breakup gone very wrong. A frantic morning at a shopping centre At about 9:30am, rescue workers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation and medical staff from Chularat 1 Suvarnabhumi Hospital raced to a bathroom outside a shopping centre in Samut Prakan. Inside, they found 22-year-old Silaphat sitting in distress with painful chemical burns on his legs and arms. First responders quickly administered first aid before rushing him to the hospital for further treatment. Initial reports feared an acid attack,…
Back in their homes after a tense evacuation, residents of Surin’s Kab Choeng district returned to their fields expecting weeds and wind damage—and instead found war relics jutting from the earth. Four unexploded BM-21 rockets, believed to have been fired from across the Cambodian border, turned up in farmland and forest patches, partly buried like unwelcome fence posts in the quiet countryside. Local officials moved fast. The Dan Subdistrict Administrative Organization, alongside the Surin provincial police’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, locked down the area and issued a clear warning: keep out. The message is simple but serious—do not approach, do not touch, and call in the professionals. It was the returning villagers themselves who first spotted the danger. Walking the edges of sugarcane fields and rice paddies, they saw odd shapes breaking the surface—metal cylinders planted tail-first, noses lifted skyward. Sirichai Tantirattananon, the mayor of Dan subdistrict, described the…
Thailand’s latest crime-busting storyline reads like a tech thriller with a dirty secret: a cross-border pipeline of second-hand mobile phones allegedly arriving from China, stripped for parts, and—when deemed worthless—dumped at petrol stations. The claim landed with a thud on Thai social media after Thitiphat Chotidechachainan, better known as Oh or Oh Sud Soi, spotlighted the issue in a Facebook post that quickly gathered traction. His message was blunt: behind bargain phone deals and rebranded devices lies a shadowy stream of electronic waste washing up on Thai soil. From bargain bin to biohazard: how the scheme allegedly worked According to Oh’s account, several opportunistic entrepreneurs saw a golden opportunity in second-hand mobile phones shipped in from China under labels like GM Phone and Yesphone. The devices, along with chargers that reportedly lacked Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) certification, were sold online and in shops across Thailand. The tidy profit model?…
It was a quiet Friday afternoon in Mueang, Chon Buri—until the unthinkable unfolded at the entrance to Nong Ri Health Centre. At around 3pm on August 9, police and local agencies were called to the scene after a passerby spotted a man in a strange, slumped position on a marble bench. At first glance, locals assumed he was simply sleeping off a midday drink. Minutes later, the truth proved far more sobering. The man, estimated to be around 40 years old, had no identification on him. In his pockets: approximately 3,000 baht in cash, a single Myanmar banknote of 200 kyat, and a pack of cigarettes. The unusual mix raised more questions than answers and sparked speculation that he might have been a Myanmar worker—though authorities have reinforced that this is only an early assumption, not a confirmation. For now, his identity and story remain unknown. Witness account: a routine…
If you’ve ever watched a diplomatic teacup turn into a tempest, you’ll appreciate the swirl that followed remarks by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, at the 17th ASEAN and Asia Forum (AAF). Hosted by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs on August 5, the forum became the stage for a frank assessment of tensions between Thailand and Cambodia—an assessment that ricocheted across social media and drew a measured, clarifying response from Bangkok. At the heart of the matter are long-standing territorial issues between Thailand and Cambodia, a subject that needs no introduction to anyone who follows Southeast Asian geopolitics. Taking the mic, Balakrishnan did not sugarcoat his view. He called the conflict “a major setback,” adding with characteristic candor, “There’s no need to put lipstick on this. This is a setback, a major setback, not just for peace and stability, but for credibility in ASEAN.” He went further,…
In a case that has sent shockwaves through Surat Thani, a surprise inspection at Santiwararam Temple in Koh Samui’s Taling Ngam subdistrict ended with the abbot and another monk defrocked and facing legal proceedings after testing positive for drugs. The operation, led by Amorn Chuachu, the district chief of Koh Samui, brought together a task force of administrative officers and law enforcement, including Police Colonel Panya Nirattimanont, superintendent of Koh Samui Police Station, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Sawat Thalawal, an investigative officer. They worked in tandem with local police and the Surat Thani Office of National Buddhism after reports surfaced of suspicious gatherings of young people at the temple—and troubling whispers that drug use may have reached into the monastic quarters. Authorities approached the matter methodically. The abbot and three monks were invited for drug testing while officers conducted a lawful search of their living areas. During the search, drug…
In Mueang Hua Thanon, nestled in Panat Nikhom district, Chon Buri, a quiet evening of fishing took a wild turn when a local angler discovered that his “big bite” came with teeth he definitely didn’t expect. Instead of hauling in a hefty catfish, 35-year-old Pornsak found himself face to snout with a crocodile—yes, a crocodile—lurking in the same natural waterway where families often cast lines at dusk. A fish tale with scales and teeth Pornsak had taken a few days off work and, like any self-respecting weekend fisherman, set up an impressive spread: 30 fishing rods lining the waterway. As the sky bruised into evening and the cicadas tuned up, one rod began to bend and tremble. Convinced he had a prize catch, he hurried over—only to freeze when he saw the unmistakable armored hide and uncompromising stare of a crocodile on his line. Startled but steady, he managed to…