PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A postman in Bang Saphan Noi district faces the axe after thousands of undelivered letters were found in his home.
Pictures of the hoard of undelivered mail were recently posted on Khon Rak Bang Saphan (Bang Saphan Lovers) Facebook page and quickly grabbed news headlines.
Santhad Thad Detkerd, a page administrator, also posted a message saying “Is this Thailand Post? After waiting for important documents such as bank letters, tax payment forms, cheques and others for months, I have to travel for a long distance to get my mail. Let’s take a look. Undelivered letters are piled up inside a house at Ban Chong Lom village, Moo 8 in tambon Chang Raek, Bang Saphan Noi district. A staffer tasked with delivering mail shows no responsibility. What is his office doing? Complaints were lodged several times, but they fell on deaf ears.’’
Photos of thousands of letters left undelivered at the postman’s house drew comments from several page followers who had shared the same plight -- no mail from the postman for several months.
A Facebook user posted photos of undelivered mail on the Khon Rak Bang Saphan Facebook page.
Mr Santhad told the Bangkok Post that he had not received letters from the post office since November last year. He had to travel to the offices and banks which had sent documents via mail to collect them himself.
The undelivered mail had badly affected him and others, he said. Some local residents were sent court warrants they never received, almost landing them in jail.
Mr Santhad said he had filed complaints with Bang Saphan Noi post office, but no action had been taken. He had to turn to social media to force concerned agencies to address the issue.
The Bangkok Post contacted the head of Bang Saphan Noi post office about the undelivered mail, but was told that he could not give a press interview. He suggested that the media should contact the provincial post office for accurate information.
Theerapong Thepmanee, head of Prachuap Khiri Khan post office, on Wednesday apologised to all affected Thailand Post customers for the undelivered mail.
He admitted he was shocked to hear about the hoard of undelivered letters.
An investigation found the postman who did not deliver them had worked at the district post office for seven months. The office had to evaluate the performance of staff every six months -- and he would not pass the next evaluation, Mr Theerapong said.
The postal chief indicated that he would resign before that, so hopefully postal customers will not have to wait another five months for their mail.