Pattaya —
A mentally unstable Chinese man caused chaos in Pattaya by allegedly stealing a monk’s alms bag before fleeing into the heavy rain yesterday.
The incident occurred in the morning on August 17th, 2024, on Soi Kor Phai 4, Nongprue sub-district, Banglamung district, Chonburi province.
According to local reporters, a Buddhist monk was walking in the alley to collect alms during his morning routine when the shirtless Chinese man, wearing only red shorts, waved the monk over as if he was asking for food.
The monk approached to give the man food and then began to walk away, but he suddenly grabbed the monk’s alms bag, slung it over his shoulder, and dragged the monk by his hand into a nearby pavilion. He then dumped out the offerings that the monk had been collecting from the locals. Shortly after, the monk walked out and sought help from the local residents.
The residents entered the pavilion to retrieve the alms bag, but the Chinese man resisted and began acting erratically. He then ran off into the heavy rain.
Mr. Wirat Joyjinda, a local official and eyewitness, recounted that he was in a meeting discussing community affairs when a distressed monk entered the community office, asking for help, saying that a mentally unstable foreign man had taken his alms bag.
Mr. Wirat went to the pavilion where he confronted the Chinese man. He then attempted to peacefully take back the bag, but the man became agitated and fled the scene, at one point kneeling and bowing to the monk before running away into heavy rain, leaving the residents totally perplexed.
Later, Pattaya police received a call from the Chinese man’s wife, Ms. Slepo, a 23-year-old Cambodian national. She explained that her husband, Mr. Jian, 48 (full name withheld to protect his privacy), had gone missing since the morning and was suffering from a mental disorder due to not taking his medication.
The police issued a radio alert for officers in the area to locate Mr. Jian, and eventually he was safely found about 1 kilometer away from the scene. The man was found cutting down trees and picking flowers in a local garden. The officers then assisted him and transported him, along with his family, to Banglamung Hospital for medical attention.
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