Fern frustrated trying to hand out free food in Nakhon Pathom

A woman in Nakhon Pathom has taken to Facebook to share her frustration and disappointment after officials seized over 300 bundles of food that she planned to hand out in front of the Phra Pathom Chedi, north west of Bangkok. Fern Pannamjai posted on Monday that she was giving out food at the location for 30 minutes, along with photos of the food, on her page.

“Pork rice soup ready to give away, 250 sets today and 50 boxes of rice, a total of 300 sets of food. This is day 7 of giving free food”.

When struggling locals started lining up for the food, officials from the Nakhon Pathom provincial authority turned up and seized all the food. They told her that if the hand outs of free food were to continue it would be breaking the emergency decree that remains in place. They told Fern that the food was going to be given away to people living in “slums”.

Fern posted online and apologise for not being able to give away the pork soup as promised to the people waiting in lines.

She broke down on a video saying… “What hurts me the most is that the people who came to wait did not get to eat, but those sleeping in their homes got to eat. I’m not saying that those waiting at home are wrong, but I feel sorry for the people who sat in the sun because they believed that a meal was coming their way.”

“I am sorry for not being able to fulfill my promise, it really was impossible to continue the giveaway. I know you were waiting for my soup, but I couldn’t give it to you”.

SOURCE: Thai Residents

PS. The Thaiger would recommend you contact local police in your area to assist with any donations which may cause people to assemble, so the authorities can assist with the orderly and safe gatherings. The police have been very helpful in directing traffic and making sure people maintain social-distancing.