An older woman's touch
A beauty clinic owner in Chon Buri has her mother to thank for defusing an awkward situation in which an elderly stranger climbed into the back of her car and refused to budge.
The stubborn auntie sits in the back of the car.
Monchuyanis "Praew" Muenrat, 32, posted a clip of the auntie-type figure, as news reports called her, aged in her 70s, perched in the back of her white Toyota Vios, which her younger sister had parked in front of her salon on April 8.
Shortly after parking the vehicle, the auntie, whose identity is unknown, opened the back door and climbed in uninvited. She was clutching two large bags which she brought in with her.
Alarmed, Praew's younger sister burst into the shop to say an old woman was sitting in the back of the car. She sought her help to dislodge her.
The clip, posted to her PetchPraew account on TikTok, quickly went viral with more than 12.1 million views by week's end. It shows Praew patiently negotiating with the woman, dressed in an orange check top, white trousers and red soft hat.
"Aunty, if you can tell me where you would like to go, I can fetch you a bus. But this is not a public vehicle," she said.
The imposter said she preferred sitting in the cool of the back seat. Asked what she wanted, she says: "I want someone to take me straight ahead."
Praew carried on negotiating in the heat of the midday sun for an hour before giving up and calling Muang police.
She also asked her mother to try talking to the woman, figuring that as two "adults" they might be able to talk sense to each other.
News reports said Praew's mother spent just a minute talking to the mysterious aunt. Whatever she said worked, as the woman agreed to leave the vehicle.
Police turned up and offered to take her home. A check of civil registration records could find no trace of the woman.
Pattaya police, who handed the matter over to their Bang Lamung counterparts, said they suspect she might be a vagrant or possibly have Alzheimer's, and had forgotten her way home.
One netizen said the woman, wearing a similar outfit, had hijacked a vehicle in a similar fashion in Ban Chang district, Rayong, back in January.
One glance too many
A container truck driver and his mate in Samut Prakan are facing assault charges after getting into a fight with a Myanmar vagrant who was causing trouble.
Prasert's wife (left) follows to the spot where Saw hit the barrier.
Bang Kaew police were called to a spot in Village 4 of Bang Chalong sub-district, Bang Phli, where they found the body of Myanmar man Saw Thonglai, 28, under an overpass.
Truck driver, Prasert (no surname given), 47, and his mate, Anek (no surname given), 35, also a driver, chased him off after a fight after the Myanmar man tried to approach Prasert's wife.
No match for the two men, he fled across the road and tripped on the barrier, diving head first into the waterway below. The overpass is about 1km from the Bang Na-Trat entrance to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
While some reports say he appears to have choked and drowned, others said a head injury caused by his collision with the barrier, or perhaps his fight with the two men, may have led to his death.
Prasert said his wife and child were sleeping the night in his truck on the roadside on April 7, awaiting the arrival of containers. He got out of his cab about 11pm for a smoke and found the Myanmar man sitting by his truck.
"I asked him what he was doing and if he worked for the container yard. He didn't reply. My wife opened the truck door and asked what we were doing.
"The Myanmar man saw her and remarked on how pretty she was. He started walking towards her and I warned him off," Prasert told police.
Prasert, who said he was worried for the safety of his wife and child, said the stranger refused to listen but tried to approach his wife from the other side of the vehicle.
CCTV images show him wandering about on the road, casting glances at Prasert and his wife. Locals identified him as a homeless vagrant.
"I told him to beat it, but he started punching me in the face," Prasert said. "I was no match for him so called out to my wife. She called Anek, who was sleeping in the truck behind me. He joined the fight until the Myanmar man fled across the road," he said.
CCTV images show Pasert and his wife crossing the road after Saw has hit the barrier. They tried to drag the man from the water and called police, but by the time they arrived he was dead.
Police say Saw was found with one wound to the head and three to his body.
Amarin TV said the truckers have been charged initially with assault causing harm. They have held the pair for further questioning.
She can reclaim her bedroom now
A Chumphon woman is savouring the sweet satisfaction of "I told you so" after her abusive partner of 15 years and his minor wife, who ignored her pleas to lead an honest life, were busted for selling drugs.
June is nabbed for drugs.
Provincial police nabbed a team of three security guards, including her partner, in Muang district last week.
Acting on local tip-offs, they arrested Tu, 44, with two ya ba pills in his back pocket, along with fellow guards Tong, 39, and Bank, 34.
All admitted taking and selling ya ba. News reports did not identify where they worked.
Searching the property, police also unearthed a stash of 1,614 speed pills, along with two Thai modified .22 calibre handguns, which the men had secreted in a pile of rubbish.
Expanding the probe, a search of Tong's place also turned up his minor wife, identified as June, 37. She was found with an undisclosed quantity of the drug ice, which she said was her own.
Tong, who runs a team of security guards including the two co-accused, said he buys and sells ya ba via the Line app.
He orders 2,000-3000 pills a time, he says, via mail or sometimes direct from the roadside.
"Bank divides them up for sale to manual workers for 50 baht each, but if the buyer wants to take the lot, we sell them for 4,000 baht," he told police.
Asked about the ice found with his minor wife, he said: "I bought the ice from an agent for June to take. I don't sell it as it is too pricey. Ya ba moves faster and sells out quicker."
Police charged them with drugs and firearms offences.
Watching from the sidelines was Tong's partner, identified in news reports as 'A", who long warned him off drugs, to no avail.
Reporters met A following the arrest of the four.
She said she had been with Tong for 15 years and together they have a young daughter.
"Last year he met June, whose husband is a soldier. I tried to stop him from seeing her, but he beat me up.
"I also told him to stop meddling with drugs, but he beat me up for that too," she said.
"Worse is when he brought June into our home.
"He put us in different bedrooms. He would sleep with me Mondays to Thursdays, and June on Fridays to Sundays," she said.
Understandably, things were not happy at home.
"I was willing to yield on everything. I even let him drive her about in our car. I was left battling the rain and sunlight; I would do anything it takes just for my daughter and I to survive," she said. "Now, both have been nabbed because they broke the law."
