Relatives wept uncontrollably as they received the body of Aunt Tiem, a victim of the tragic train crash, back to her hometown in Prang Ku District, Sisaket Province. Her sister nearly collapsed when she saw her younger sibling being carried from the vehicle.

The horrifying accident occurred when a freight train collided with Bus Route 206 at the railway crossing near the Asok-Phetchburi intersection on Kamphaeng Phet Road 7 in Bangkok on the afternoon of May 15th. The crash killed eight people and injured many others. One of the victims was Ms. Tiem Phuang Yod, known as Aunt Tiem, age 57, from Prang Ku District, Sisaket Province.

At 7:55 PM on May 20th, 2569, Aunt Tiem's body was brought back to her birthplace at Ban Don Kratai, Samo Subdistrict, Prang Ku District, Sisaket Province. The atmosphere was filled with profound sorrow as relatives, friends, and townspeople gathered in large numbers to receive her. The moment the vehicle arrived at the house, the sound of wailing from relatives erupted immediately, with some collapsing to the ground in grief. Aunt Tiem's fifth younger sister held incense and walked forward, tearfully telling her departed sister: "You're finally home," to inform her spirit that she had returned to her birthplace.

After that, relatives and officials carefully carried Aunt Tiem's body from the vehicle amid continuous sobbing before placing it at the ceremonial area prepared inside the house. The family brought rice, fish, food, alcohol, medicine, sweets, flowers, incense, and candles to perform the spirit-calling ceremony according to Northeastern Thai tradition, inviting the deceased's spirit to enter the next realm peacefully and worry-free.

The atmosphere was filled with sorrow, particularly as "Aunt Joum," the deceased's sister, cried heartbrokenly the moment she saw her younger sister's body being removed from the vehicle. Other relatives had to support her as she was overwhelmed with grief.

After the spirit-calling ceremony, relatives performed ritual water pouring on the body, asked for forgiveness, and placed Aunt Tiem's body in a coffin before performing chanting ceremonies according to tradition, with the sound of monks' prayers intensifying the sorrowful atmosphere.

Reporters further noted that relatives plan to hold merit-making and funeral chanting for two nights, with family and townspeople continuing to pay their respects, followed by the cremation ceremony this Saturday according to tradition.

The first night of a merit-making ceremony was held on May 20 at Suan Sawan Temple in Pibul District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, for Ms. Wipharaksa, known as Nong Rose, age 25, who died in a train-bus collision on May 16. Provincial officials Sarachai Khrongyut and Dr. Sirima Methvadi Sirthanitra presided over the ceremony attended by numerous family members and friends of the deceased.

Ms. Pawrisa, Rose's close friend from high school, recalled their last meeting during Songkran, when they discussed travel plans for the coming year. She described Rose as someone living a normal, promising life with remarkable talents and abilities. "Thank you for being our friend," Pawrisa said. "Since there are no miracles left, I just hope our friend will be free from pain and illness."

The merit-making ceremony for Ms. Wipharaksa is scheduled for three days, with today being the first day. The funeral will take place on Saturday, May 23.

On May 20 at Sri Racha Police Station in Chonburi Province, police escorted Amnart Ruenrueng, a former Thai national amateur international boxer and IBF flyweight world champion (112 pounds), to Chonburi Provincial Court for remand. This came after his family, exhausted by his behavior, posted a video of the former champion using drugs and causing a disturbance in the middle of the night. On May 18, officers arrested Amnart at Khao Taeng On community in Sri Racha subdistrict and took him for drug testing, which came back positive.

Amnart was under probation and required to report to Chonburi Provincial Court. He had reported twice before the drug use video surfaced. Additionally, he faces another pending sentencing case and had failed to report to court. The Chonburi Probation Office will now consider revoking his deferred sentence, making him subject to legal penalties.

While being escorted to court, Amnart appeared calm and unbothered, saying: "I'm asking for another chance. This time I'll do better than before. I won't behave badly or fall back into my old habits anymore."

Families Expose Former Boxer Amnart Ruenrueng's Drug Use at Home, Questioning Whether He Deserves a Second Chance

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A teacher at Ban Rang Muang School in Jombueng District, Ratchaburi Province was deeply moved after a home visit revealed that a first-grade student still wore his kindergarten uniform to school. The student lives with his deaf mother, Ms. Renu Sopha, 46, and grandmother in a dilapidated single-story house with crumbling wooden doors and rusted corrugated metal that leaks during rain. The family is in severe poverty following the recent death of the student's father.

On May 20, 2569, teacher Rujisa Noisanthi discovered the family's dire circumstances. The mother works temporary odd jobs to support the household but faces severe limitations due to being deaf and receiving only minimal disability benefits. When school began, the mother was unaware her son had advanced to first grade and could not afford to buy him a proper uniform.

Moved by the situation, Rujisa consulted with colleagues and organized donations for school uniforms, shoes, and a backpack. The teacher group also pooled money to buy rice and provided 800 baht for immediate living expenses. The student's academic performance is good, showing strong effort and dedication despite his family's hardship.

Those wishing to assist can donate through Kasikornbank, Jombueng Branch, Account name: Ms. Renu Sopha, Account number: 020484283914. For more information, contact 0636430845.

Variegated Syngonium Podophyllum plants are gaining international popularity, with approximately 70% of production exported to Japan, China, Europe, and the Middle East, while 30% is sold domestically. A reporter recently interviewed Udom Thitiwattanaskul, owner of Udom Garden in Don Klang District, Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi Province, after he successfully cultivated "Syngonium Podophyllum" plants that have attracted significant interest both domestically and internationally, particularly the variegated variety. Udom explained that producing variegated plants is challenging, with only about a 16% success rate, or approximately 1 in 6 plants. Sometimes, even if the parent plant shows clear variegation patterns, the propagated offspring may revert to normal green color. Currently, the most popular colors in global markets fall into two main groups: pink-purple tones and yellow-orange-red tones. These color shades can change depending on environmental conditions, fertilizers, and vitamins used in cultivation. The garden's current market distribution is approximately 70% foreign exports and 30% domestic sales, with primary markets in the Middle East, Europe, China, and Japan. Exports adhere to strict standards—plants must display continuous variegation from small to mature size, with no "green loss" or "black loss" defects, and must be grown under natural light only without LED grow lights for color enhancement. During long transportation periods, artificially enhanced colors fade and become unacceptable to customers. European customers prefer smaller plants for easier packaging, while Middle Eastern customers prefer larger specimens. A critical requirement for Middle Eastern exports is that no coconut husk or shredded coconut material can be attached to the plants. Although variegated Syngonium Podophyllum plants require 1.5 to 2 years of cultivation before they're ready for export, their high market demand means that even young plants showing clear variegation patterns are immediately pre-ordered by customers. This has become another lucrative emerging plant in the post-COVID era with continuous value generation potential.

TSTE Group is accelerating its expansion into the food, beverage, and snack industries through Nature Best Food (NBF) and its subsidiaries, positioning itself as a comprehensive OEM one-stop service provider. CEO Chanachai Chutimavoraphand announced that 2026, marking the company's 50th anniversary, represents a major milestone for the group's food business expansion. The company will showcase integrated food product development capabilities at THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA 2026 (May 26-30, 2026) across snacks, ready-to-eat meals, and beverages, operating eight food manufacturing facilities.

In the snack category, the company continues developing innovative products including seaweed sandwiches and crispy seaweed snacks. New launches will feature surimi-based snacks, flour-based snacks with creative flavored crispy rolls, protein snacks, and protein bars available under the "Koriko" brand or as OEM products. For ready-to-eat meals, TSTE is introducing OEM production using Retort Sterilizer technology, which extends shelf life to over one year in pouch packaging without refrigeration—ideal for restaurant chains, franchise operators, emergency relief, military rations, and children's nutrition products. The beverage segment offers OEM manufacturing services for flavored fruit drinks, herbal beverages, and other products using Sterile Hot Filling systems compliant with international standards, with packaging options including bottles and frozen pouches for export markets.

The company's integrated food, beverage, and snack manufacturing expansion will strengthen its position as a fully integrated OEM service provider covering product formulation, manufacturing, and packaging solutions for domestic and international markets. TSTE targets food and beverage sales of THB 1 billion within three years. Originally established as a port and warehouse operator for sugar handling along the Chao Phraya River, TSTE later expanded into logistics, bulk cargo, bagged cargo terminal operations, and container terminal businesses.