Police Arrest 3 Men for Stealing Rice Sacks from Desperate Grandmother Saving for Son's Kidney Treatment

Police have arrested three men who were stealing rice sacks from villagers to sell and buy methamphetamine. The suspects - Thanaphol, 26, Mahasamut, 20, and Korndech, 20 - were caught in Buriram province after multiple complaints from local farmers. Thanaphol confessed they committed the thefts due to unemployment, selling the stolen rice and using some money to buy drugs. One victim, Thongnark, 63, explained she had only 4 rai of farmland and was saving rice for potential drought seasons, with part of her harvest intended to fund her son's end-stage kidney treatment. She was shocked that the men she had previously hired to help load rice would commit such a theft. Police charged the suspects with collaborative nighttime agricultural theft, receiving stolen goods, and possession of Class 1 narcotics (methamphetamine).