Chachoengsao authorities have rejected an application to extend a permit for a proposed Jewish cemetery in Bang Khla district, following local concerns about possible effects on water sources and natural resources.

Provincial Governor Nimit Wongvara confirmed the decision on Wednesday, September 3, after the issue resurfaced on Thai social media. He said there are currently only one body buried on the land in Samed Tai.

Water concerns raised by farming community

Unverified posts circulating online claimed that around 9,690 square metres of land would be developed into a Jewish cemetery capable of holding up to 1,200 bodies.

The reports alarmed local residents, many of whom are farmers reliant on water sources in the area. Governor Nimit said the planned cemetery could affect natural resources and water supplies.

A Thai national whose identity has not been publicly disclosed applied in 2021 for permission to operate a cemetery at the site. The project, known as Jewish Cemetery Thailand, was intended to provide extra burial space for Thailand's Jewish community because the existing cemetery in Bangkok had limited capacity.

Local media reported that the plot is enclosed by a fence about four metres high and that its entrance is locked.

Earlier protest and legal appeal

Residents earlier complained to the local administrative office after noticing activity at the property and objected to its use as a cemetery.

Bodies were subsequently reported to have been taken to the site, leading about 60 Thai people to protest outside the premises. ThaiRath reported that authorities reported that one body was buried there, while Thailand's Jewish community said three bodies had been buried.

Officials previously examined the site and declined to renew the cemetery permit, citing failures to meet requirements including its closeness to natural water sources.

The Thai applicant and a private company involved in the scheme have challenged the permit revocation in court. That case remains pending.

The matter has also become locally sensitive because of the site's location in an agricultural community, rather than being solely a question of cemetery capacity for the Jewish community.

Pictures courtesy of ThaiRath

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5 September 2026

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UPDATE

Four graves found at Jewish cemetery in Chachoengsao

Pictures courtesy of Daily News

Officials have inspected a Jewish cemetery in Bang Khla district, Chachoengsao, after concerns were raised by local residents and found four graves, including three said to have been buried after the site's permit had expired.

The inspection took place on September 4 at the cemetery in Moo 2, Samet Tai subdistrict. A representative of the company linked to the site opened its gate for Bang Khla district officials, Samet Tai Subdistrict Administrative Organisation staff, Bang Khla police and local leaders.

The local authority had contacted the company after the cemetery became the subject of social-media discussion.

Inspectors find three additional graves

Officials initially believed there was only one body at the site, for which permission had previously been sought. However, they found three further graves inside a blue tent.

Two of those graves had been covered with cement and had name plaques, similar to the grave outside the tent. The third had been buried in the ground, marked only by stones around the plot and a temporary handwritten name sign.

Authorities said the three graves inside the tent appeared to have been added in late 2025. Samet Tai kamnan Namphueng Kamsa-at said two were buried late last year, while the third appeared more recent because no cement structure had yet been built around it.

She said the tent appeared intended to prevent people outside from seeing the graves. During the inspection, the man representing the company remained at a distance and did not approach the burial plots, she said, shouting: "Aren't you afraid of ghosts?"

Residents call for bodies to be moved

Local resident Nuanphan Chaengcharoen, 53, called on authorities to quickly move the bodies out of the community. She said villagers had complained to several agencies and wanted action against the company and those involved.

Nuanphan also questioned the location of the cemetery, saying its original permission application identified Moo 4 in Samet Tai, while the cemetery was built in Moo 2. She said residents might not have known the site was being used as a cemetery had a body not been brought into the area.

Dr Kittipong Sileuang, president of the Samet Tai Subdistrict Administrative Organisation, said officials had found an alleged breach involving bodies brought in for burial after the permit expired.

He said the authority would file a complaint at Bang Khla Police Station against the company. Initially, the matter was considered an offence under the Public Health Act, while officials will examine whether other laws also apply.

Kittipong said the company would be asked to remove the tent. Temporary tents may be erected for up to 10 days, but beyond that they are treated as structures requiring permission, he said.

The investigation into the operation of site remains ongoing.

5 September 2026

Careful guys. If granted the next thing will be “we need to create a buffer/safe zone around the cemetery to ensure safety of our beloved”. 🫢

It is really getting out of hand. So much hate and Anti-Semitism in this world. Land of Smiles? Land of vile anti - God Chosen people. Not even after death my brothers and sisters can find peace.

5 minutes ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

It is really getting out of hand. So much hate and Anti-Semitism in this world. Land of Smiles? Land of vile anti - God Chosen people. Not even after death my brothers and sisters can find peace.

Can't there be a half way point - the bodies are cremated and then the urns are placed in the ground at this location?

17 minutes ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

It is really getting out of hand. So much hate and Anti-Semitism in this world. Land of Smiles? Land of vile anti - God Chosen people. Not even after death my brothers and sisters can find peace.

Just as I thought. Zionists and their acolytes claiming this to be all about anti semitism instead of law breaking.

I don't understand why this idea even exists. Are these to Jews too good to be cremated like the Thais? When in Rome. If they insist on burial then clearly they should transport the body and not leave it in Thailand for eternity.

Just now, NorthernRyland said:

I don't understand why this idea even exists. Are these to Jews too good to be cremated like the Thais? When in Rome. If they insist on burial then clearly they should transport the body and not leave it in Thailand for eternity.

Its about taking land for improper use. Does that ring a bell?

36 minutes ago, hughrection said:

Can't there be a half way point - the bodies are cremated and then the urns are placed in the ground at this location?

Ultra-Orthodox Jews don't believe in cremation, since they think the body has to be intact in order to be resurrected when the Messiah comes to earth.

7 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

I don't understand why this idea even exists. Are these to Jews too good to be cremated like the Thais? When in Rome. If they insist on burial then clearly they should transport the body and not leave it in Thailand for eternity.

There are Chinese, Christian, and Muslim cemeteries all over Thailand. Most of those groups now cremate instead, but some traditionalists still do burials.

5 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

I don't understand why this idea even exists. Are these to Jews too good to be cremated like the Thais? When in Rome. If they insist on burial then clearly they should transport the body and not leave it in Thailand for eternity.

Thai Muslims are not being cremated. Thai Chinese are not being cremated.

26 minutes ago, Tyke said:

Just as I thought. Zionists and their acolytes claiming this to be all about anti semitism instead of law breaking.

7 minutes ago, Tyke said:

Its about taking land for improper use. Does that ring a bell?

Read the article again. There was a permit to use it as a cemetery, no one broke the law.