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Thailand

ramonmercado

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Thailand's creepy couple to marry

A Thai woman who set a world record by spending 32 days in a cage with 3,400 scorpions is to marry a man who holds a similarly creepy record for centipedes. The couple will marry on Valentine's Day and plan to consummate their vows in a coffin, according to a sponsor.

The pair met while performing their respective stunts at a snake farm.

Kanchana Ketkaew's record was broken in 2004 by a Malaysian woman. Her fiancee, Bunthawee Siengwong, set his record by spending 28 days with 1,000 centipedes.

"The couple met and fell in love when they were touring together after winning their records," according to Somporn Naksuetrong, general manager of Ripley's World of Entertainment, in Pattaya.

He said the couple planned to have a traditional Thai wedding ceremony, where elders bless the couple with water.

But instead of following Thai tradition and heading to a "wedding room" after exchanging vows, the pair plans to climb into a coffin, he was quoted as saying by the AP agency.

Kanchana Ketkaew, 36, was stung nine times while setting her 2002 record.

"It was like being in a room at home, only with thousands of little friends," she said at the time.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 653398.stm

Published: 2006/01/27 10:50:14 GMT

© BBC MMVI
 
Another slipstream story: a bit odd but probably belongs here.

No leads on Thailand disappearance

By Jude Sheerin
BBC News


How can someone disappear without trace on a small island?

That is the question nagging the family and friends of Danny Hall, a British backpacker who went missing in the southern Thai resort of Koh Pha Ngan six months ago.

The disappearance of the 36-year-old - last seen on 25 February - has baffled investigators and loved ones alike.

A roadie and former winner of TV quiz show The Weakest Link, Mr Hall had been on his third trip to Thailand when he was last seen after the island's world-famous Full Moon Party.

Every month, it is estimated up to 25,000 revellers descend on Koh Pha Ngan for the all-night beach rave.

For most of the party-goers their worst experience is likely to be waking up with a hangover.

But the British foreign office website warns that incidents of date rape have been reported at the event.


I've kind of accepted I'm never going to see him again. But someone must have seen something, someone must know something
Roy Twemlow
Danny Hall's friend

The Bangkok Post reported in April that a Koh Pha Ngan police chief had recently been transferred amid a rising crime rate and complaints about visitors' safety.

Meanwhile, a number of accounts of tourists being attacked on the island can be found on internet travel chatrooms.

Mr Hall's friend, Roy Twemlow, was one of the last people to speak to him when he rang Mr Twemlow from a bar, in the afternoon following the Full Moon Party.

The pair became friends at Birmingham University, where Mr Hall, from Norwich, England, graduated with an honours degree in history.

The 36-year-old said: "It was about 2pm when [Danny] rang me and he sounded fine, he didn't sound panicked. It's just not like him to vanish without trace.

"I've kind of accepted I'm never going to see him again. But someone must have seen something, someone must know something.





"Danny's very sociable, makes friends easily and is highly intelligent. He's also very non-confrontational."

On arriving in Thailand at the end of January, Mr Hall, who had worked as a roadie for The Rolling Stones and at England's Glastonbury music festival, spent a week in Bangkok at Mr Twemlow's home.

"He wasn't moping around or depressed," recalls his friend. "It was just the same old Danny."

Mr Twemlow, a teacher who has lived in Thailand for a decade, travelled down to Koh Pha Ngan to investigate after Mr Hall had been reported missing.

He expected to find police on the island in the midst of a full investigation when he arrived at the end of April.

'Disgrace'

But he says: "When I got to Koh Pha Ngan, the police knew very little about the case, they hadn't even searched the area where Danny was last seen. It's a bit of a disgrace really."


Mr Twemlow found his friend's possessions - a backpack and an acoustic Yamaha guitar - left in his accommodation, a hut at the island's secluded Hat Yao beach. But Mr Hall's passport and money belt have not been found.

American backpacker Chris Chester, who met Mr Hall on Koh Pha Ngan a week before his disappearance, but did not attend the Full Moon Party, raised the alarm within three of four days of the Briton vanishing.

The 39-year-old said he and his German girlfriend had met up with Mr Hall almost daily, going to the beach, relaxing with a massage and shopping.

"He had been in regular contact with us the whole time, so when we didn't hear from him for a couple of days I thought it was pretty strange. I started trying to find him and asking around," he said.

Mr Chester checked hospitals and clinics on Koh Pha Ngan and neighbouring Koh Samui in his search for the missing tourist, but to no avail.

"There was nothing to suggest he was depressed. I really can't fathom what happened to him," he said.

'Totally bizarre'

Mr Hall is known to have joined dozens of party-goers at the Backyard Bar for an "after-party", on the morning after the Full Moon rave.


Niki Kursakul, 45, from Sydney, Australia, who is married to the Thai owner of the bar, described Mr Hall's disappearance as "totally bizarre".

The mother-of-two, who has lived in Thailand for 16 years, said: "It's very, very strange. The bar isn't near a beach but I suppose it's possible he could have wandered down to the sea, gone swimming and got into difficulty.

"But a body would usually get washed up if someone drowned. If he'd fallen or had an accident near the bar he would have been found by now.

"There can be the occasional fight [in the Backyard Bar] but no-one saw any argument taking place that day as far as I know."

Bangkok's ministry of foreign affairs said the Thai authorities were working closely with Mr Hall's family and friends and the British embassy to investigate his disappearance.


Spokesman Tharit Charungvat said: "The safety of tourists in Thailand is a matter of great concern to the Royal Thai Government."

He said the number of visitors to Thailand was on the rise and that the country's popularity was "due, among other things, to the hospitality and safety tourists can expect when visiting Thailand".

Thai Police Colonel Chataree Pandum said Mr Hall's bank account remains dormant since he disappeared and investigators believe the Briton did not leave the island.

Norfolk Constabulary in England said they were treating Mr Hall as a missing person - as is the UK foreign office - but that officers currently had no plans to travel to Thailand.

In the meantime, the agony for Mr Hall's loved ones continues.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 556902.stm
 
Foetuses found in Thailand temple
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11769269
Locator map

Related stories

* Country profile: Thailand
* Timeline: Thailand

Police in Thailand have found the remains of more than 300 human foetuses hidden in a Buddhist temple in the capital, Bangkok.

The police say they suspect the foetuses came from illegal abortion clinics.

News reports say a member of the temple staff confessed to being hired by several clinics to dispose of remains.

Abortion is illegal in Thailand, except when the pregnancy affects the mother's health or is the result of rape.

Police chief Sumeth Ruangswasdi said they had been called to investigate a strong smell in the temple, and discovered a total of 348 foetuses in plastic bags, AP reports.

He said he believed that the foetuses must have been collected from abortion clinics and disposed of at different times because they were different colours and conditions.

The corpses were wrapped in plastic bags and newspaper and found in a mortuary storage area.

The police were reported to be questioning the temple's mortician.

Buddhist temples in Thailand not only perform cremation ceremonies, but also store bodies in specially refrigerated areas
 
the foetuses must have been collected from abortion clinics and disposed of at different times because they were different colours and conditions.

vomit-smiley-015.gif


Seriously i do not even want to try and imagine what that looks like.
 
Thailand police find 2,000 foetuses in temple
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11785333

Members of a rescue foundation carry bags of corpses at the mortuary storage room of a Buddhist temple in Bangkok Members of a rescue team carry bags of corpses at the mortuary storage room of the Buddhist temple
Continue reading the main story
Related stories

* Foetuses found in Thailand temple
* Country profile: Thailand
* Timeline: Thailand

Thai police say they have found the remains of more than 2,000 foetuses, thought to be from illegal abortions, hidden at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.

The remains were discovered in the temple's mortuary in containers usually used for bodies awaiting cremation.

Police were alerted by a terrible smell after the temple's furnace broke down.

Two temple workers and a woman believed to have been paid to collect and dispose of foetuses from illegal abortion clinics have been arrested.

The bodies, wrapped in plastic bags, were discovered in a newly opened area of the mortuary, days after authorities found 348 in another room.

A 33-year-old woman has admitted taking money to collect foetuses from several clinics.

She earned just over $16 (£10) for each foetus she delivered to the temple.

Police said two temple workers had been charged with hiding the bodies.

Abortion is illegal in Thailand unless pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or a mother's health is at risk.

Police say they have begun raiding some of the 4,000 clinics in Bangkok they suspect are used to perform illegal abortions.

The case has also focused attention on the abortion business in Thailand, says the BBC's Vaudine England, in Bangkok.

Wealthy women can get abortions in safe facilities but the vast majority of Thai women wanting an abortion use clinics which could put their health and safety at great risk, our correspondent says.
 
I was looking for a thread on the Kuman Thong amulet and came across this old thread and was wondering if the bodies found in that temple were kept there ready to be ritually consecrated as amulets? I have one of those souvenir type sets of Kuman Thong (กุมารทอง) twins (Luk Krok) made from composite material, these are really common, and readily available in the witchcraft markets in Thailand. The real ones are larger and quite hideous and have gold leaf on them. These little guys below are holding dried Liberty Caps o_O

12938086_10153454839636994_2037503211436340758_n.jpg
 
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I was very lucky to see several huge Water Monitor Lizards the other day. Or so I thought! Perhaps it was actually unlucky. Though with their prevalence in Bangkok, you'd think everyone should be having a bad day every day.

Details on superstitions concerning the beasts: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/why-does-thailand-hate-monitor-lizards/

Other Thai-related fortean threads:

The 'Buddhist' Aliens In Thailand
Haunted Thailand
'Child angel' dolls craze sweeps Thailand
Mystery Striped Dog/Tiger Found In Thailand
Lake Como large aquatic cryptid and similar one in Thailand
Foetuses found in Thailand temple
Thailand's Creepy Couple to Marry (Scorpion Queen; Centipede King)
One night in Thailand
Apparition of Woman in Fireball (Thailand; 2004)
Thailand motorists to get massages
The Naga of Thailand (Cryptid; Legendary Water Beast)
Lettering On Bird Brooch?
A Malicious Male Prostitute & A Fortune-Teller
Thai Doppelgänger
The Naga Fireballs (Mekong River Lights)
Naked Tourist's Faeces-Throwing Rampage At Thai Airport After 'Viagra OD'
Post-Tsunami Vanishing Taxi-Passengers in Bangkok
Weirdness in a Bangkok Police Station
Fortean Bangkok
Suppressed Video Of Thai Crown Prince
Demon Spirits Tax Thai Airport (Considered Bad Luck)
Thai Monk Antics
Mystery Of The Thai Silk King (Jim Thompson's 1967 Disappearance)
Thai festival features extreme body-piercing
Thai Boy Raised by Dog Dies in Welfare Centre
Thai Temple Souvenir Causes a Run of Bad Luck
Self-Mutilation Wows Crowds In 2019 Veggie Fest
 
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Exiled Thai dissidents mysteriously disappear.

Sitanan Satsaksit was on the phone to her brother early in the evening on 4 June when he told her to hold the line. Wanchalearm, also known as Tar, was handing over a few dollars for meatballs at a stall opposite his home in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Then Sitanan heard noise coming from the other end of the line.

"I heard a loud bang. At first I thought he had a car accident as he shouted 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe,'" she tells the BBC.

Sitanan could hear the screams of her brother as men shouted in Khmer, a language she doesn't understand. But her brother had not been hit by a car - he was being kidnapped. Witnesses at the scene say they saw a group of armed men bundling Wanchalearm into a black SUV. As he shouted for help in Khmer, some people started moving towards him, but the armed abductors warned them to back off, before speeding away. Confused and terrified, Sitanan could hear the muffled voice of her brother for another 30 minutes. Then the line went dead. A friend of Wanchalearm made some inquiries for her.

"Twenty minutes later, this person called me back to say: 'Keep calm sister, Tar was abducted,'" she recalls.

Wanchalearm Satsaksit, 37, a prominent Thai pro-democracy activist who had lived in exile in Cambodia since 2014, has not been seen since. He is the ninth exiled critic of Thailand's military and monarchy to become a victim of enforced disappearance in recent years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53212932
 
This quacks me up.

A Thai man has been jailed for two years for selling calendars which featured satirical comments and rubber ducks in royal regalia, which prosecutors said defamed the monarchy.

Narathorn Chotmankongsin, 26, has been convicted of insulting the Thai king. He is among about 200 people who have been arrested under lese majeste laws since 2020 in what critics say has been a crackdown on free speech.

The rubber duck has been a symbol of pro-democracy protesters in Thailand.

Activists widely used the symbol in demonstrations where they called for a democratic transition - a movement which also includes demands for reforms to the monarchy.

Narathorn was arrested in December 2020 for selling the calendars on the pro-democracy Facebook page Ratasadon. The political satire featured illustrations of ducks in royal regalia, and controversial captions. Prosecutors argued the images and descriptions ridiculed and defamed King Maha Vajiralongkorn. A court on Tuesday sentenced Narathorn to three years, before commuting the sentence to two years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64884724
 
An unfortunate, even ironic incident.

A senior high school student has died after an extinguisher exploded during a fire drill at his campus in Thailand.

Twenty-one others at Rajavinit Mathayom School in Bangkok were injured in Friday's incident, said the city's governor. Seven were taken to hospital. The explosion had sent the extinguisher flying towards the victim, who was about 10 metres away. Rescuers said the extinguisher may have been defective because of sun or heat exposure. The dead student was in his final year of school. His age has not been confirmed.

Police have been investigating the cause of the incident, cordoning off the scene which remained scattered with debris. Officials added that the extinguishers used in the drill have all been sent to the police's forensics division.

The exploding cannister contained carbon dioxide, according to the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, the rescue organisation on the scene.

The extinguishers are usually refilled with chemicals when empty, but "how and where they were refilled must be investigated, and safety valves must be checked", said the city's police chief.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65995118
 
Flown home by jumbo jet?

A Thai elephant given to Sri Lanka in 2001 has returned to its birthplace after a diplomatic row over its alleged abuse.

The 29-year-old Muthu Raja arrived in Thailand on Sunday on a 19 million baht (£425,000; $540,000) commercial reparation flight. Bangkok had demanded the return of the animal after claims it was tortured while kept at a Buddhist temple. Sri Lanka's prime minister said he had formally apologised to the Thai king.

The 4,000kg (8,800 pound) elephant was airlifted to Chiang Mai in a specially-built steel cage, accompanied by four Thai handlers and a Sri Lankan zookeeper. It will undergo hydrotherapy to treat an injury on its front left leg.

Both Sri Lanka and Thailand consider elephants to be sacred animals. In 2001, the Thai royal family gifted three elephants, including Muthu Raja, to Sri Lanka's government to be trained as carriers of religious relics. Muthu Raja was placed in the care of a temple in the south of the country. Animal rights groups allege it was made to work with a logging crew in the temple, adding that it developed a stiff leg from a long-neglected injury.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66083487
 
Jailed for suggesting the monarchy be reformed.

One of Thailand's most prominent political activists, Arnon Nampa, has been sentenced to four years in prison under the country's much-criticised royal defamation, or lese-majeste law.

He was convicted by a court in Bangkok over comments he made during a protest in October 2020. Thailand's lese-majeste law forbids anyone from insulting the monarchy on pain of harsh jail sentences. It has been increasingly enforced since the military took power in a 2014 coup.

Mr Arnon, a human rights lawyer, was the first activist to call publicly for a national conversation on the role of the monarchy in today's Thailand.

The verdict follows months of public discussion of the law after the general election in May, in which the progressive Move Forward party defied expectations by winning the largest number of votes and seats in parliament on a platform of sweeping reform, including a demand that the lese-majeste law be amended.

Arnon Nampa shot to prominence on 3 August 2020, when, during student-led protests against the then-military-backed government, he broke a strict taboo by demanding that the monarchy be part of wider calls for reform.

It was a very risky thing to do. People have been jailed for 30 or 40 years in Thailand just for social media posts deemed to defame the royal family.

Defending yourself against a lese-majeste charge is very difficult too - trials are often held behind closed doors, and defendants are put under great pressure to plead guilty, in order to get the typically severe sentences reduced.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66920855
 
I was very lucky to see several huge Water Monitor Lizards the other day. Or so I thought! Perhaps it was actually unlucky. Though with their prevalence in Bangkok, you'd think everyone should be having a bad day every day.
Every single time I visit LOS I spend a few days wandering along Bangkoks klongs watching the monitors,love watching them hunt and swim,they remind me of young Komodo dragons.
 
Another slipstream story: a bit odd but probably belongs here.

he was still missing in 2018.

New appeal launched almost 10 years after Danny Hall went missing on Koh Phangan​

Koh Phangan News February 13, 20182


The last known sightings of Mr Hall were at the party on Koh Pha-Ngan on February 24 2008 and at around noon on February 25 2008 at an after-party at a bar known as the Back Yard Bar.

A fresh appeal for information has been launched almost 10 years after a Norwich man went missing following a Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan in the south of Thailand.

A roadie and former winner of BBC TV quiz show The Weakest Link, Daniel Hall had been on his third trip to Thailand when he was last seen after the world-famous Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan island.

The last known sightings of Mr Hall were at the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha-Ngan on February 24 2008 and at around noon on February 25 2008 at an after-party at a bar known as the Back Yard Bar.

Mr Hall, who was 35 at the time, had arrived in Thailand at the end of January 2008 and initially stayed with a friend in Bangkok. He went to stay at Laem Son bungalows, on Had Yao Beach on Koh Phangan on February 16 2008, before meeting up with a Spanish friend. His belongings were still at the bungalows and no money was withdrawn from his bank account since February 22, 2008.

The mysterious disappearance of Mr Hall on Koh Phangan island prompted detectives from Norfolk and Suffolk’s Major Investigation Team to launch a high-profile appeal which featured on BBC’s Crimewatch show. The appeal, which aired in February 2013 – five years after Mr Hall disappeared – included a picture of Mr Hall standing at the side with two men in the centre, one being a topless man with a goatee beard and shaved head.

Officers said they wanted to speak to the two men seen looking towards Mr Hall in the photograph, as they could be potential witnesses to his movements. They were thought to be British nationals.

Detectives were encouraged by the appeal, which generated 25 calls to them and provided a number of names – but despite the new information, Mr Hall remained missing.

A spokesman for Norfolk Police has today issued a renewed appeal for information ahead of the 10th anniversary of his disappearance later this month.
The spokesman said: “We’ve completed all existing lines of enquiry and the investigation remains open. We would of course act on any new information received and encourage people who may know the whereabouts of Daniel Hall to come forward.”

Mr Hall had a history degree from Birmingham University but had been working in Norwich as a labourer before travelling to Thailand.

https://kohphangannews.org/high-ale...danny-hall-went-missing-koh-phangan-3749.html
 
he was still missing in 2018.

New appeal launched almost 10 years after Danny Hall went missing on Koh Phangan​

Koh Phangan News February 13, 20182

The last known sightings of Mr Hall were at the party on Koh Pha-Ngan on February 24 2008 and at around noon on February 25 2008 at an after-party at a bar known as the Back Yard Bar.

A fresh appeal for information has been launched almost 10 years after a Norwich man went missing following a Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan in the south of Thailand.

A roadie and former winner of BBC TV quiz show The Weakest Link, Daniel Hall had been on his third trip to Thailand when he was last seen after the world-famous Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan island.

The last known sightings of Mr Hall were at the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha-Ngan on February 24 2008 and at around noon on February 25 2008 at an after-party at a bar known as the Back Yard Bar.

Mr Hall, who was 35 at the time, had arrived in Thailand at the end of January 2008 and initially stayed with a friend in Bangkok. He went to stay at Laem Son bungalows, on Had Yao Beach on Koh Phangan on February 16 2008, before meeting up with a Spanish friend. His belongings were still at the bungalows and no money was withdrawn from his bank account since February 22, 2008.

The mysterious disappearance of Mr Hall on Koh Phangan island prompted detectives from Norfolk and Suffolk’s Major Investigation Team to launch a high-profile appeal which featured on BBC’s Crimewatch show. The appeal, which aired in February 2013 – five years after Mr Hall disappeared – included a picture of Mr Hall standing at the side with two men in the centre, one being a topless man with a goatee beard and shaved head.

Officers said they wanted to speak to the two men seen looking towards Mr Hall in the photograph, as they could be potential witnesses to his movements. They were thought to be British nationals.

Detectives were encouraged by the appeal, which generated 25 calls to them and provided a number of names – but despite the new information, Mr Hall remained missing.

A spokesman for Norfolk Police has today issued a renewed appeal for information ahead of the 10th anniversary of his disappearance later this month.
The spokesman said: “We’ve completed all existing lines of enquiry and the investigation remains open. We would of course act on any new information received and encourage people who may know the whereabouts of Daniel Hall to come forward.”

Mr Hall had a history degree from Birmingham University but had been working in Norwich as a labourer before travelling to Thailand.

https://kohphangannews.org/high-ale...danny-hall-went-missing-koh-phangan-3749.html
I remember this story very well,paradise has thorns,whenever I see westerners drunk or stoned in LOS I shake my head.
 
Mass shooting by 14 year old, Live reports.

Summary​

  1. Three people have been killed in a shooting at a luxury shopping centre in the centre of Bangkok
  2. A 14-year-old suspect has been arrested, but his motive remains unknown
  3. Four other people were injured, and witnesses have reported hiding inside shops and bathrooms
  4. One foreigner is among the injured, the Reuters news agency reports
  5. The Thai prime minister says police arrived at the scene quickly, and has sent his "deepest condolences" to the victims and their families
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-asia-66993083
 
Mass shooting by 14 year old, Live reports.

Summary​

  1. Three people have been killed in a shooting at a luxury shopping centre in the centre of Bangkok
  2. A 14-year-old suspect has been arrested, but his motive remains unknown
  3. Four other people were injured, and witnesses have reported hiding inside shops and bathrooms
  4. One foreigner is among the injured, the Reuters news agency reports
  5. The Thai prime minister says police arrived at the scene quickly, and has sent his "deepest condolences" to the victims and their families
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-asia-66993083

Occurrences like these are becoming far too common, no matter where in the world you may be.
 
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