Picture courtesy of Daily News

 

A 40-year-old Thai man was rushed to hospital in critical condition after drinking toilet cleaner in an apparent suicide attempt at the Poipet immigration checkpoint in Cambodia. The man, identified as Mr Thanawat from Pathum Thani province, was unable to afford the 10,000 baht overstay fine required to return to Thailand, prompting his desperate act.

 

Security sources reported that although Mr Thanawat possessed valid travel documents, he had been living in Cambodia for over a year. On the morning of July 11, he attempted to cross back into Thailand via the Poipet border but was told he must first pay the fine. Lacking the necessary funds, he reportedly consumed toilet cleaner in the checkpoint’s bathroom, collapsing soon after.

 

Cambodian authorities quickly contacted Thai officials, who facilitated his return under humanitarian grounds. Rescue volunteers from the Aranyaprathet Foundation met him at the midpoint of the Klong Luek border bridge and rushed him to Aranyaprathet Hospital for emergency gastric treatment. As of the latest reports, he remains in hospital under close medical supervision.

 

In a related development, Thai authorities confirmed the return of four more Thai nationals from Cambodia, coordinated through the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh.

 

Two Thai men voluntarily requested assistance from the embassy to return home. Mr Koson, 30, had been working for an online gambling platform, while Mr Therdpong, 24, was employed as an electrician at a casino in Pailin province. Both men had entered Cambodia legally.

 

Two young Thai women, Ms Matchima, 21 and Ms Aranya Iamsaree, 18, both from Loei province, were also repatriated. They had attempted to illegally cross into Cambodia to work in online gambling operations but were arrested by Cambodian immigration authorities. All four individuals were handed over to Thai officials after checks confirmed no outstanding arrest warrants or criminal proceedings against them.

 

Meanwhile, in a separate incident during the early hours of the same day, a Thai border patrol unit under the Aranyaprathet Task Force apprehended three Cambodian nationals, one man and two women, attempting to illegally re-enter Cambodia via a natural trail behind the Big C supermarket near Rong Kluea Market.

 

Upon questioning, it was discovered the trio had been informal vendors at the market but were forced to leave due to poor economic conditions and declining sales. They had no legal travel documents and were attempting to return home without passing through official checkpoints.

 

Border tensions and undocumented migration remain key challenges along the Thai-Cambodian frontier, as economic hardship and law enforcement crackdowns continue to affect both Thai and Cambodian nationals.

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-07-13

 

 

 

Better hope it kills him. Knew a Thai guy that tried this in samui and survived. His insides were wrecked and his brain basically became partially functioning. Walked about like a zombie not having much of a clue what was going on .

It's not like there is a big border wall.

 

Tough decision , walk a couple of km through the forest and cross the border

or commit suicide drinking toilet cleaner.

So now it makes sense why some Thais try it illegally through the green border.

29 minutes ago, ronster said:

Better hope it kills him. Knew a Thai guy that tried this in samui and survived. His insides were wrecked and his brain basically became partially functioning. Walked about like a zombie not having much of a clue what was going on .

 

Initially, he was short of 10000-b.

Now his debt(hospital charges) is even greater.

Bet he is better off dead.

Even if he survives, can never live as he used to be.

Maybe its a similar taste to their Lao Khao

He beat the system!

 

He who dares!

Swallowing toilet cleaner?

Reminds me of one scene from Magnum  Force; early episode of 

Dirty Harry series.

 

 

3:42

12 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

He beat the system!

 

He who dares!

 

But didn't win...

Sad, some people choose to die for $300 or so.

That well stands for "being trapped" in poverty...

I might give this a spin at my next extension, or maybe start off slowly with a plate of Laab Pla Ra at my 90 day reporting - see how it pans out.

On 7/13/2025 at 3:58 AM, Georgealbert said:

The man, identified as Mr Thanawat from Pathum Thani province, was unable to afford the 10,000 baht overstay fine required to return to Thailand, prompting his desperate act.

Madness....

22 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

But didn't win...

 

He did! He got out of Cambodia without paying the 10000 baht. He'll recover.

 

Just needs to lay off Som Tum.

A post commenting on moderation has been removed @Will B Good

 

Rule 13. You will not publicly comment on moderation in an open forum. You will not comment on actions taken by individual moderators or on specific or general policies and issues. You will not post a negative emoticon in response to a public notice made by a moderator. You may send a private message to a moderator to discuss individual actions or you can email support (at) aseannow.com to discuss moderation policy and account suspensions.You will not block communication from moderators or Admin.

Aggression, personal attacks, or any form of abuse toward moderators will not be tolerated and will result in strict consequences.

2 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

He did! He got out of Cambodia without paying the 10000 baht. He'll recover.

 

Just needs to lay off Som Tum.

 

He certainly came out of Cambodia.

But at what costs?

Do you call it win while the damage he suffers far greater losses than that gain? 

 

If he happen to survives, hospital bill will be  waiting for him, unless he got some wealthy relatives  willing pay it for him(highly unlikely though).

1 hour ago, ronster said:

Better hope it kills him. Knew a Thai guy that tried this in samui and survived. His insides were wrecked and his brain basically became partially functioning. Walked about like a zombie not having much of a clue what was going on .

But I hope he recovers and gets on with his life. Life is precious. Desperate situations drove them to do silly things.

But I hope he recovers and gets on with his life. Life is precious. Desperate situations and with no one to aid them drove them to do silly things. God bless these folks.

10 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

Do you call it win while the damage he suffers far greater losses than that gain? 

 

If he happen to survives, hospital bill will be  waiting for him, unless he got some wealthy relatives  willing pay it for him(highly unlikely though).

 

A win in the sense that he didn't have to pay to leave Cambodia.

 

He may have an unpaid bill and a creditor, but he'll be back in Thailand. 

 

They don't keep the patient hostage in the hospital, like they do in Philippines here in Thailand, do they?

1 hour ago, actonion said:

Maybe its a similar taste to their Lao Khao

 

"Free Drink" 

It can be fatal, as seen months ago...

 

 

1 hour ago, FlorC said:

It's not like there is a big border wall.

 

Tough decision , walk a couple of km through the forest and cross the border

or commit suicide drinking toilet cleaner.

Maybe he was already arrested and not allowed to do the walk! But he should have known, that he would have to pay for overstay!

There are better ways to kill yourself.

2 minutes ago, Nickcage49 said:

There are better ways to kill yourself.

 

 

Keep meaning to look into that.......no intentions of suffering towards the end.

Now the poor hospital will have to spend all that money to save this more run who wanted to die.

18 minutes ago, Nickcage49 said:

There are better ways to kill yourself.

Yes, he can get Fentanyl and go out much easier.  He is a selfish moron.

2 hours ago, actonion said:

Maybe its a similar taste to their Lao Khao

No.

24 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

Yes, he can get Fentanyl and go out much easier.  He is a selfish moron.

You need money and contact to acquire fentanyl.  It's not that easy.

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Madness....

Sadness

2 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Initially, he was short of 10000-b.

Now his debt(hospital charges) is even greater.

Bet he is better off dead.

Even if he survives, can never live as he used to be.

Government hospital...

56 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

Now the poor hospital will have to spend all that money to save this more run who wanted to die.

Just what would the actual cost be....you seem to have some idea.

32 minutes ago, Magictoad said:

You need money and contact to acquire fentanyl.  It's not that easy.

 Could be woke and identify as a badly injured rabbit/dog/cat/whatever then have a vet put him humanely down.