A glimpse into life on the edge
Prayong apologises to Aoy
Every morning, she lights her small charcoal stove and sells bags of the warm, salty nuts to anyone passing by — a modest living that keeps her and her family afloat.
But life on the edge offers little protection. On Wednesday night, while most of the country celebrated Loy Krathong, Aoy fought off a drunken man who crawled into her mosquito net and tried to have sex with her — twice.
Police later arrested 49-year-old Prayong (no surname given), a day labourer from the area, who admitted he had been drinking heavily with friends.
“I was drunk and got aroused,” he told officers after being taken into custody. “I went over to ask if I could sleep with her, but she kicked me in the face.”
The case might have ended there, with an apology and a minor charge for disorderly conduct. But behind the story of a drunk and a grandmother lies a much harsher reality — one of poverty, displacement and danger.
Aoy has been a widow for over a decade. She once rented a small home for 1,000 baht a month, where she lived with her youngest son, Ek, and three grandchildren.
But when she fell behind on rent, the owner told her to leave. With nowhere else to go, Aoy asked a friend for permission to sleep in front of a rented room nearby. She now pays 300 baht a month for that tiny patch of ground, where she spreads her mat and mosquito net each night.
Her son and grandchildren sleep elsewhere — at a nearby temple, where monks let them eat leftovers and share space under a corrugated roof.
“I just wanted to be safe and have somewhere to rest,” Aoy told police. “I didn’t think something like this could happen.”
That night, the man had been drinking white liquor just four or five metres away. Around 9 pm, he crawled into her net and propositioned her. Startled, Aoy kicked him in the face. He retreated, but returned later and began touching her leg. Again, she kicked him out. “After that, I couldn’t sleep,” she said. “I sat awake until morning and told my son.”
Officers charged Prayong with “being drunk and causing a public disturbance” and advised Aoy to file a separate complaint for sexual harassment.
But her story has already touched a nerve — a reminder of how Thailand’s elderly poor, especially women, are left to fend for themselves.
Even as officials discuss whether she might be moved to a state-run shelter for the aged, Aoy says she only wants one thing: “A small place where I can live and sell my peanuts in peace.”
Gold shop thieves flee
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| Mobin is spread-eagled on the ground. |
Debt and desperation drove two men to a failed daylight robbery in Chanthaburi.
A 40-year-old father and his teenage stepson tried to rob a gold shop in the province, in what police described as a “desperate act to pay off gambling debts.”
The pair were quickly captured after the shop owner, keeping his wits about him, pulled out a gun and sent them running.
The incident took place on Nov 5 at Mae Kim Tiang Gold Shop in Nong Khla, Tha Mai district.
CCTV footage shows the older man, identified as Mobin (no surname given), walking in first, pretending to browse. Moments later his 18-year-old stepson Suppadit followed, wearing a black balaclava, and smashed the glass display case with a hammer.
But before they could grab a single necklace, the owner drew a handgun and shouted at them to stop. Startled, the two bolted from the shop and sped away.
Police patrols quickly sealed off nearby roads, and within 40 minutes both men were caught hiding in the area.
Mobin, who works odd jobs and lives nearby, said he owed money to gambling creditors in Rayong. With debt collectors pressing hard, he said he had planned the robbery with his stepson as a last-ditch attempt to raise cash.
“I just wanted to pay what I owed,” he told police.
Neither man managed to steal anything, though the shop owner sustained minor cuts while struggling to fend them off. Police are investigating whether the two are linked to other thefts in the region.
Too hot to handle
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| The trader chases away the thief with a ladle |
A city curry trader gave a thief a run for his money when he snatched her gold necklace and she chased him off with a ladle.
Wang Thonglang police were called to the robbery at a curry stall in Soi Ramkhamhaeng 53.
A 50-year-old vendor told officers that while she was serving food, a man suddenly pulled a knife on her and snatched her gold bracelet, weighing two baht, before fleeing toward the end of the soi.
But the victim refused to back down — she grabbed her ladle and ran after him, striking out as she chased.
At the same time, a good Samaritan identified as Burhan (no surname given) and other nearby residents joined the pursuit and alerted police.
The chase ended in Soi Lat Phrao 107, Lane 14 — a dead end — where the suspect lost control of his motorcycle and fell, allowing officers and locals to capture him on the spot.
Police seized the stolen gold and the motorcycle used in the crime, and took the suspect in for legal action.
Pol Col Jetsada Yangnok, chief of Wang Thonglang police, ordered increased patrols in the early-morning hours when many food stalls open — a period often targeted by thieves.
He also thanked the public for helping detain the suspect.
The victim told reporters she had been selling curry around 3 am when the man approached her stall, pulled a knife, and grabbed her bracelet.
As she shouted for help, her daughter came out from inside — prompting the suspect to turn his knife on the young woman before fleeing.
“I was terrified, but I had to fight back,” she said. “Next time, I probably won’t wear any gold while working. I don’t want to go through that again.”
Wrong gear, right timing
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| The car after it drove into the wedding hall, and the chaotic aftermath. |
Guests at a wedding in Krabi had a narrow escape when a car suddenly plowed into the reception hall just after the celebration ended.
Police from Muang station were called to a function venue where a grey sedan smashed through the front wall of a banquet hall used for a wedding party.
Tables, glassware and decorations lay scattered across the floor, but by sheer luck no one was injured — the guests had already gone home.
The driver, a 41-year-old woman named Sumaporn (no surname given), was found sitting near the car in shock, waiting for police and the insurance company to arrive.
She said the party had just wrapped up and she was heading home. Her car uses a dial-type gear selector, and she wasn’t sure if she’d turned it to “reverse” or “drive.”
When she pressed the accelerator, the vehicle suddenly shot forward instead of backing out, crashing straight through the wall and coming to a halt near the stage.
“I didn’t even have time to think — one second I was parking, the next I was inside the hall,” she told police, trembling.
The bride’s uncle, Jongsak (no surname given), 61, who hosted the wedding, said he initially thought he’d heard fireworks.
“It sounded like someone set off firecrackers,” he said. “Then I turned and saw the car coming right through the front.”
Fortunately, the reception had ended only minutes earlier. “If the guests were still here, there could have been injuries,” Jongsak added. “We were very lucky.”
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