Bangkok’s homeless reselling donated food sparks fury

Homeless individuals in Bangkok’s Trok Sake have been accused of reselling donated food parcels, prompting social media outcry.

Reports emerged yesterday, August 29, warning those planning to donate food to be cautious, as some homeless groups have been intercepting and reselling the food.

A member of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) staff group shared photos and a message detailing the incident. The post described how certain homeless individuals in Trok Sake were aggressively intercepting vehicles and organising their food distribution points to collect and resell the food parcels. The post, shared yesterday at 5.14pm, included the hashtags #SaketAlley #HomelessBehaviour.

“The homeless in Trok Sake are aggressively intercepting food parcels meant for donation, only to resell them later. They set up their distribution points and obstruct vehicles, ignoring all officials.”

The post continued to detail how these individuals would eat the free food and then sell any surplus. Additionally, there are claims that some vendors in the area are using their stalls to disguise the sale of illegal substances such as methamphetamine and crystal meth, alongside offering illicit services.

The situation has become a significant concern for the BMA, which has issued warnings and is considering cancelling the food distribution points. The behaviour of these homeless people has been described as defiant and challenging to the system.

Social media has been buzzing with reactions to this situation, with many expressing outrage and calling for stricter measures, reported KhaoSod.

In related news, the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (IDMB) arrested a homeless Thai man for breaking into an IDMB police inspector’s Bangkok condominium room several times.

The IDMB police inspector suspected his condo had been broken into on June 27 when he arrived home and found some items out of place. He checked thoroughly and discovered some of his belongings were missing but many of his valuables remained untouched.