Angry crowd furious with Chonburi governor over bungled cremation flower ceremony

Angry crowd furious with Chonburi governor over bungled cremation flower ceremony

Picture: Daily News

A crowd of more than 300 people gathered at Chonburi town hall yesterday evening to protest and demand an explanation after the sandalwood flower ceremony for King Bhumibol was mired in chaos last week.

The protest came as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha was on national television praising officials for their efforts nationwide.

Protesters said that they waited for up to eight hours at the ceremony. Many old people fainted in the heat. Others just gave up and went home in frustration unable to say their final farewells to their beloved monarch.

Police were called as the angry mob demanded answers from governor Phakrathorn Thianchai yesterday evening.

A representative group went in to meet the governor but nothing was resolved with the governor insisting that he had stuck to the guidelines for the ceremony.

Though he did offer an apology if people were inconvenienced he defended his team saying that they worked until midnight. He said that he was trying to conduct the ceremony according to "self-sufficiency" guidelines and did not want to waste money.

He also defended his team against allegations of strong-arm tactics during the ceremony at the replica of the funeral pyre set up outside the town hall in central Chonburi.

Source: Daily News