SAMUT SAKHON — A massive fire ripped through an aluminium manufacturing plant in Samut Sakhon province on Wednesday, destroying the life savings of a Myanmar worker who kept gold and cash at his workstation.

At about 10:00 on Wednesday, the radio centre at Krathum Baen Police Station received reports of a fire at an aluminium manufacturing company in Moo 1, Tha Sao subdistrict, Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon. More than 10 fire engines from the Tha Sao Subdistrict Administrative Organisation and nearby municipalities responded to the blaze.

Krathum Baen District Chief Phirunrot Nakdontree directed the emergency response as incident commander alongside Krathum Baen police superintendent Pol. Col. Phasapong Monta, Tha Sao SAO president Wallop Thongphat and Deputy Investigating Officer Sub-Lt. Natthiphat Naksang.

The factory, which manufactures steel rebar, aluminium sheets and custom aluminium castings, covers more than 10 rai (16,000 square metres). The industrial complex comprises four warehouse buildings.

The fire broke out in the fourth warehouse at the rear of the compound, an area covering slightly more than one rai used for processing and moulding aluminium sheets. The intense heat caused parts of the roof and structural framework to collapse, damaging machinery and manufacturing equipment. No injuries or deaths were reported.

A Myanmar supervisor at the factory pleaded with firefighters to let him enter the damaged warehouse to search for 10 baht-weight of gold bullion, approximately 152 grammes, and 200,000 baht in cash kept in a bag inside his desk drawer. However, neither the cash nor the gold could be recovered.

Phirunrot ordered the Tha Sao SAO to close the damaged warehouse and designate it a hazardous area off-limits to the public until further notice. He also instructed local authorities to work with forensic experts from the Forensic Science Division and other agencies to investigate the cause of the fire.

The Thai Meteorological Department issued a weather forecast on May 20, 2569, for the next 24 hours, predicting continued rainfall nationwide with heavy downpours in certain areas. Heavy to very heavy rain is expected in parts of the Northern Region, upper Northeastern Region, and the western coast of the Southern Region.

Weather forecast from 6:00 PM today through 6:00 PM tomorrow:

Northern Region: Thunderstorms covering 60% of the area with heavy rain in Nan, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Tak, Kamphaeng Phet, and Phichit provinces. Very heavy rain expected in some areas of Phitsanulok and Phetchabun. Low 23-26°C, high 31-38°C. Southwest winds 10-20 km/h.

Northeastern Region: Thunderstorms covering 80% of the area with heavy rain in Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham, and Nakhon Ratchasima. Very heavy rain in parts of Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nong Bua Lam Phu, Udon Thani, and Chaiyaphum. Low 23-25°C, high 30-34°C. Southwest winds 10-20 km/h.

Central Region: Thunderstorms covering 60% of the area with heavy rain in Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Lopburi, Saraburi, and Singburi. Low 24-27°C, high 31-35°C. Southwest winds 10-20 km/h.

Eastern Region: Thunderstorms covering 60% of the area with heavy rain in Nakhon Nayok, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chanthaburi, and Trat. Low 24-29°C, high 32-34°C. Southwest winds 20-35 km/h. Seas around 2 meters high, higher in thunderstorm areas.

Southern Region (East Coast): Thunderstorms covering 60% of the area with heavy rain in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, and Songkhla. Low 24-26°C, high 30-35°C. Southwest winds 20-35 km/h (from Surat Thani northward) and 15-35 km/h (from Nakhon Si Thammarat southward). Seas 1-2 meters, higher in thunderstorm areas.

Southern Region (West Coast): Thunderstorms covering 80% of the area with heavy rain in many areas of Krabi, Trang, and Satun, and very heavy rain in parts of Ranong, Phang Nga, and Phuket. Low 23-26°C, high 26-30°C. Southwest winds 20-40 km/h (from Phuket northward) and 20-35 km/h (from Krabi southward). Seas 2-3 meters from Phuket northward, higher in thunderstorm areas.

Bangkok and Vicinity: Thunderstorms covering 40% of the area. Low 26-28°C, high 33-36°C. Southwest winds 10-20 km/h.

Warning Alert No. 16 issued at 5:00 PM regarding very heavy rain across Thailand and strong winds in the Andaman Sea (Alert 76/2569).

May 20, 2026 – Sirikanya Tansukul, a Pheu Thai party list MP and deputy party leader, posted a message with images on Facebook regarding the Cabinet's approval of the 'Thailand Helps Thailand Plus' project. The attached documents showed that under a 400 billion baht borrowing decree, approximately 18.8 billion baht was allocated to a program supporting low-income earners holding state welfare cards—roughly 13 million people—to continue receiving state welfare benefits through the end of fiscal year 2569.

Sirikanya accused the government of improperly redirecting emergency relief funds into regular operating expenses. She alleged that the 18.8 billion baht, which should have come from standard annual budgets, was secretly diverted from the People's Fund. According to Cabinet resolutions, these welfare benefits—such as 300 baht assistance payments, utility costs, and transportation allowances—should normally be funded from regular annual budgets and have nothing to do with energy crisis relief.

She noted that because the government budgeted only 30 billion baht when 50 billion baht was actually needed, there wasn't enough money for welfare payments in fiscal 2569. "It's bold of the government to use 200 billion baht in emergency energy crisis relief loans to cover regular government expenses, which should normally come from annual operating budgets," Sirikanya stated. "This clearly deviates from the original purpose. So the question is: was this loan meant to help suffering citizens, or to solve the government's budget problem?"

An unusual incident occurred in Liuyang, Zhejiang Province, China, when a young child tore up household banknotes without understanding the consequences, reducing a large sum of cash into paper scraps. Some pieces were so small it was nearly impossible to identify which part of the bill they belonged to. Seeing the state of their money, the distressed parents decided to bring all the shredded fragments to their bank for help.

Multiple bank employees worked together to restore the bills, starting by sorting the fragments by denomination, color, and design pattern, then carefully comparing and piecing together each scrap of paper. Bank staff revealed that the difficulty lay in the sheer quantity of fragments and the fact that many were torn into long strips. Even a slight assembly error could render the bills unusable, requiring everyone to exercise considerable patience and concentration. The entire process took nearly five hours.

Ultimately, the employees successfully reconstructed all 4,100 yuan (approximately 19,000 baht) in banknotes and exchanged them for new bills in full. After the story circulated online, many netizens joked that "you can just look at their faces and tell how stressed the parents are," while others praised the dedication and professionalism of the bank staff.

The bank has issued a reminder to the public that damaged banknotes should not be discarded. If more than half of the bill remains intact and is verified as genuine currency, citizens can exchange it for new banknotes at their bank free of charge.

On May 20, 2026, the Royal Gazette published a royal proclamation elevating five community temples to "royal monastery" status to honor Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of the fourth cycle celebration of her birthday on June 3, 2026, as follows:

1. Wat Asokaram in Muang Samut Prakan District, Samut Prakan Province - A model monastery in scriptural learning established in 1955 Buddhist Era as a memorial to King Ashoka, visited by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit for the enshrinement of the Buddha's relics on June 4, 1966. The monastery features orderly structures and serves as a center for Vipassana meditation and Buddhist propagation in the central region, earning it recognition as a glory of Samut Prakan Province and the central region of the Thai kingdom.

2. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Koa Kha District, Lampang Province - An ancient important monastery associated with the northern kingdom, housing the Lampang Luang reliquary and the Emerald Buddha of Don Tao. The late King and Queen visited the temple for water-pouring ceremonies on December 26, 1971. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has paid respects multiple times. It features Buddhist architectural principles with local religious traditions and serves as a spiritual center in the northern region.

3. Wat Pa Saeng Arun in Muang Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen Province - Established by senior monks in the tradition of Phra Kru Vinai Dhorn, venerated by the late King and Queen. The monastery has proper facilities and is recognized for its public welfare, art, administration, Buddhist propagation, and religious education efforts, featuring an Isan-style ordination hall that displays local architectural and wisdom characteristics.

Police from Region 1 Drug Suppression Division raided a rental house and arrested four drug suspects—two men and two women—uncovering a massive shipment of 8.9 million methamphetamine pills that were being held before distribution to their network.

On May 20, 2025, Pol. Col. Kraisorn Sriampon, commander of the Saraburi Provincial Police and Region 1 Drug Suppression Division, led officers to search a suspect house without an address in Ku Khot Subdistrict, Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani. Acting on an informant's tip that large quantities of drugs from Saraburi were being stored in the area, officers discovered 8 million methamphetamine pills, one handgun, and one explosive device.

Four suspects were arrested: Wirojn, 42, from Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani; Watcharapong, 31, from Tha Toom District, Surin; Parichad, 21, from Bang Na, Bangkok; and Panatda, 26, a Laotian national.

Initial interrogation revealed that Wirojn orchestrated large-scale drug smuggling operations from Saraburi, storing drugs temporarily before distribution. A second search of a rental house in Prachatipat Subdistrict, Thanyaburi District, Pathum Thani—used as another storage location—yielded an additional 900,000 methamphetamine pills hidden inside.

Suspects confessed to receiving drugs from Saraburi using a white panel pickup truck with Chonburi license plates, with a red Toyota Yaris (Bangkok plates) used for surveillance of drug storage routes. Most of the drugs were kept at the Ku Khot housing area because the Thanyaburi rental house was in a narrow soi. Authorities are continuing to investigate and pursue dismantling the entire drug network.