Police Urge Embassy Cooperation to Tackle Mental Health Incidents Involving Foreigners

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

Police in central Bangkok have called for closer cooperation with foreign embassies in handling mental health incidents involving foreign nationals, amid a rising number of such cases in the capital.

 

Lumpini Police Station hosted a high-level meeting with representatives from 17 embassies at the Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel in Pathumwan district. Also in attendance were officials from the Immigration Bureau, Tourist Police, the Royal Thai Police Foreign Affairs Division, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Homeless Protection Centre.

 

The gathering aimed to enhance coordination and emergency protocols as Bangkok continues to welcome large numbers of tourists and expatriates.

 

Police Colonel Yingyot Suwanno, Superintendent of Lumpini Police Station, said the meeting addressed growing challenges officers face when dealing with foreign nationals suffering from mental health crises, particularly those requiring hospitalisation or urgent psychiatric support.

 

As part of the discussion, embassy officials were presented with revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), designed to streamline communication and improve crisis response between embassies and local authorities.

 

Several past incidents were cited to illustrate the urgency of the matter:

 

• In February 2024, a Japanese woman experiencing a psychiatric episode commandeered an emergency rescue vehicle and fled to the Thonburi area. Police were forced to hire a private interpreter due to the embassy’s limited staffing at the time.

 

• Two separate security breaches at the US Embassy were also mentioned. In May and June 2024, an American and a Russian national each attempted to gain unauthorised access to the embassy grounds, one even leapt into the front pond. Poor coordination between embassy security and Thai police caused delays in both cases.

 

• On 20 March 2025, an elderly Polish man was discovered unwell outside a hotel. Police experienced significant delays due to communication issues with embassy officials, resulting in slow access to medical care.

 

A more successful outcome was achieved in a case involving a Belarusian national with a psychiatric condition, who damaged property and attacked individuals at a hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 1. Effective coordination with Somdet Chaopraya Hospital, a specialist psychiatric institution, allowed for prompt and appropriate intervention.

 

The meeting also reviewed an incident from 11 December 2024 in Phuket, where a Belarusian man became intoxicated, displayed aggressive behaviour, and resisted arrest. Authorities credited the smooth handling of the situation to clear SOPs and consistent adherence to legal protocols.

 

Bangkok police hope the newly introduced procedures will help prevent misunderstandings, reduce response times, and ensure that vulnerable foreign nationals receive the care they need while protecting public safety.

 

The initiative underscores the importance of cross-border collaboration in a city where international tourism and expatriate populations continue to grow.

 

-- 2025-04-08

 

[flyingtlger]

Sadly, I expect a lot more of these types of cases in the future, especially because many come to Thailand to retire because the cost of living is much less than their home country and they may not have relatives or close family members looking after them.....

 

 

 

[ikke1959]

Mental health??? I think a lot of locals need some help too, as I always experience that for example too loud partymusic will go to a higher level around 22.00 when people go to bed , or that many times you can read that Thais are being killed for nothing, but jealousy, greed, or don't get money and so on.. The few foreigners are not the problem

[ChrisY1]

The foreigners with mental health issues are extremely small....however among Thais, there are probably hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people.....why not fix them first?

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

The foreigners with mental health issues are extremely small....however among Thais, there are probably hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people.....why not fix them first?

Indeed in the airplanes they always first help yourself before you can help others.... Here in Thailand there is a lot of work to do for the netizens, but the foreigners are the culprits.. and than wondering why less come to retire or live in Thailand

[Gottfrid]

4 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

Sadly, I expect a lot more of these types of cases in the future, especially because many come to Thailand to retire because the cost of living is much less than their home country and they may not have relatives or close family members looking after them.....

 

 

 

So, eating alone is a mental health issue for you? Does anything of what you posted have relevance to mental issues or illness?

[steven100]

many foreign nutters around but there's alot more Thai nut cases walking the streets that's for sure.  ....   

clean up your own backyard first hey '  .......   

[jcmj]

The problem is they still don’t want to address Mental health. Even my Thai insurance will not cover anything to do with mental issues, even for a short time. It’s an illness that can happen to anyone and they need to treat it as an illness. 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

The foreigners with mental health issues are extremely small....however among Thais, there are probably hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people.....why not fix them first?

The Thai health service does not have the facilities to cater to those numbers, nor do they wish to have them recorded as mentally ill and highlight a deeper social issue.

Better to let them stay at home with family members and have them shoulder the burden.

[Formaleins]

The British Embassy has installed some cages in the back garden to restrain the usual violent Brits, they said they liked the way the locals treated mentally ill family members so would follow on the tradition.

[Jingthing]

An unrealistic request. That's not the role of embassies but maybe a good idea for the Thai authorities to try to pass the buck.

 

[Photoguy21]

To live away from your country of birth you need the right kind of mental attitude. Many people do not have this and as a result suffer psychologically. Having said that, the majority of foreigners make little to no attempt to integrate within the society of the country. They refuse to try and learn Thai so they can communicate and expect all the locals to speak English. If you have this attitude you wont fit in anywhere in the world so you are best advised to stay in your home country.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Looking at the OP image, is that a tinfoil cap the police officer ion the left is wearing?😋

[digger70]

3 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Looking at the OP image, is that a tinfoil cap the police officer ion the left is wearing?😋

Looks more like a bandage, must've had an issue and banged his head. 🙏

[Sir Dude]

Lol... mental health issues in foreigners are like a tsunami here. Good luck with that.

[SlimeLand]

It's laughable that they recommend that the embassies address it, because the narcissistic Thais that work at these embassies refuse to even answer phones and/or email regardless of the situation.  Good luck with that! 

[John Drake]

Bangkok ought to create a foreigners only ghetto in Bangkok. Restrict the digital nomads and alcoholics to the area and see if it helps return things to livable conditions.

[BangkokReady]

On 4/8/2025 at 2:35 PM, Photoguy21 said:

To live away from your country of birth you need the right kind of mental attitude. Many people do not have this and as a result suffer psychologically.

 

That really depends on the country.  Somewhere like Thailand is harder due to the race and culture being so different to the West.

 

On 4/8/2025 at 2:35 PM, Photoguy21 said:

Having said that, the majority of foreigners make little to no attempt to integrate within the society of the country. They refuse to try and learn Thai so they can communicate and expect all the locals to speak English. If you have this attitude you wont fit in anywhere in the world so you are best advised to stay in your home country.

 

Possibly some truth in this, but the Thais don't exactly make it easy.  No matter how long a foreigner lives in Thailand, they will be viewed as a complete outsider.  They'll also find that there are many issues where a foreigner is immediately discriminated against.

 

Even foreigners who speak fluent Thai, many still report not really feeling like they belong and being treated as a stranger.

[BangkokReady]

23 hours ago, John Drake said:

Bangkok ought to create a foreigners only ghetto in Bangkok. Restrict the digital nomads and alcoholics to the area and see if it helps return things to livable conditions.

 

Interesting idea, and I think they attempted this in a city called Pattaya.  Will Thais be free to move in and out to extract money from the foreigners?

[Emdog]

On 4/8/2025 at 5:27 AM, Georgealbert said:

cooperation with foreign embassies in handling mental health incidents involving foreign nationals,

Now that would be a bottomless pit, a black hole, a never ending task