Thai man arrested after fabricating story about pregnant wife trapped in earthquake rubble
A 50-year-old man in Thailand has been arrested after falsely claiming that his pregnant wife was trapped under rubble following an earthquake in Bangkok.
Somnit (name transliterated from Thai) gave an emotional interview to the media, insisting that his four-month-pregnant wife had been buried when the State Audit Office building collapsed on Friday (28 March).
To support his claim, he presented an employee card, allegedly belonging to his wife, which further fuelled public sympathy.
Source: Big Kren on Facebook
Many netizens were moved by his distress, with one person even donating 10,000 baht (S$390) to him.
However, suspicions arose after netizens noticed that the woman on the employee card appeared significantly younger than Somnit, casting doubt on his story.
The truth unravelled when Somnit’s own daughter came forward, revealing that the entire story was a lie.
According to the Thai Facebook page Big Kren, she had been searching for her father after seeing the viral news.
She revealed that she hadn’t seen him in eight years, as her mother had divorced him due to his troubled behaviour.
Man arrested after hoax exposed
On Monday (31 March) evening, Thai police arrested Somnit after Ms Kornwipha (name transliterated from Thai), 25, filed a complaint accusing him of using her employee card to support his fabricated story.
Ms Kornwipha, the rightful owner of the card, was horrified to see news reports suggesting she was trapped under rubble.
Source: Daily News
She explained that she had worked part-time at a department store in the Rama IX area but had returned the card to her former employer after resigning in 2019.
Ms Kornwipha had no idea how Somnit obtained it.
Meanwhile, TIS Guard Group, Somnit’s former employer, confirmed that he left the company in May 2024.
When he first shared his fabricated story with reporters, he was wearing a reflective traffic vest with the company’s logo.
Man confesses to fabricating story, says he wanted to be famous
During questioning, Somnit admitted to fabricating the entire story and apologised to those affected by his deception.
He explained that he had no intention of scamming people, but simply wanted to become famous.
Somnit also acknowledged his struggles with alcoholism and revealed that he had found Ms Kornwipha’s employee card in a rubbish bin, using it to support his false claims.
Reports indicate that the S$390 donation was returned to the donor after the truth came to light.
Thai police confirmed that legal action would be taken against Somnit and issued a warning against exploiting public tragedies for personal gain.
They stressed that using deceitful tactics to solicit donations is considered fraud and urged the public to remain vigilant against similar scams in the future.
Also read: Myanmar reports 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 28 March, tremors felt in Bangkok
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Featured image adapted from Big Kren on Facebook and Thairath.
