TRAT, Thailand – Merchants in the Rong Mai Market area of Bang Phra Subdistrict, Trat province, reported an unsettling incident involving three individuals who claimed to be soldiers soliciting donations at Jae Bua shop On March 6. Acting swiftly, police officers responded to the report and were dispatched to investigate the incident.
Despite an extensive search, officers found no trace of the alleged soldiers. They spoke to Bualuang, 60, and Sompong Sangkitmongkol, 59, the shop’s owners, who were attending to customers as usual. Bualuang recounted that during the encounter, the purported soldiers solicited donations for medical equipment, specifically defibrillators, for injured soldiers.
Moved by their appeal, the couple contributed 20,000 baht in cash. However, the men departed without providing any receipts or evidence of the transaction. Bualuang’s suspicions were aroused when fellow vendors questioned the authenticity of the soldiers’ claims. Concerned, her husband promptly reported the incident to the police.
In a related incident, Khanitha Suwannasa, a 44-year-old vendor selling yellow sticky rice cakes, recounted a suspicious encounter with 2-3 individuals exhibiting affluent behaviour near her shop on the day before the reported incident. She advised fellow business owners to exercise prudence and consider redirecting charitable contributions through official channels rather than providing cash donations directly.
The police urged caution and recommended that the couple should immediately contact law enforcement in future incidents to act as witnesses and prevent potential scams. Presently, authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and conducting further investigations to verify the reported events.
