Mentally ill woman in Pattaya denies coffin cart theft

Monks and workers at Bun Kanchanaram Temple in Pattaya caught a mentally ill Thai woman taking a coffin cart to use as a clothes hanger at home. She claimed she did not steal it and simply “requested to borrow it in her mind.”

Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station were called to the temple to apprehend the woman, identified only as Jam. She was believed to be between 40 and 50 years old and reportedly suffered from a mental illness. When they arrived, monks and residents near the temple were engaged in a heated argument with Jam.

According to a report on Channel 3, 58 year old Samreng Yalasub told police that Jam was a homeless woman who had been living at the temple for some time. She used an area near a storage room behind the crematory as her home.

The monks stated that Jam had taken a yellow cart, which the temple used to carry coffins during cremation ceremonies. One of the monks noticed the cart near Jam’s makeshift space and saw her hanging clothes and belongings on it, so he asked her to return it.

Jam refused and went on a mini rampage, pulling the cart along with her belongings out of the temple. A temple worker chased after her to retrieve the cart, leading to a heated argument, after which Jam disappeared with the stolen cart.

The monks then requested a municipal official to help bring Jam and the cart back to the temple, which was successfully done. However, Jam continued to deny the accusation and argued with the official, the monks, and some locals.

Jam claimed she had not stolen the cart, adding that she requested to borrow it, although only in her mind—so no one else could hear it, which she insisted was not her fault.

The monks urged the police to either arrest Jam or relocate her to a more appropriate place, as she was constantly causing disturbances at the temple.

Channel 3 did not report how the issue was ultimately resolved or where Jam was taken.