The Debt Enforcement Office has clarified the case of a homeowner nearly ruined after a major bank filed to foreclose on their home despite the debt being fully settled. Officials revealed that enforcement officers withdrew the land seizure on May 12, 2025. On May 13, 2025, Seksan Suksaeng, Director-General of the Debt Enforcement Office, addressed reports of a homeowner facing foreclosure on a property with zero outstanding debt. The case involved Chaiyaphum Provincial Court (Case No. ผบ.1651/2560). The plaintiff had submitted a request through the e-Filing system to seize the defendant's property, claiming incomplete payment according to the court judgment. After enforcement officers verified the documents and seized a mortgaged land plot in Phon Thong Subdistrict, Mueang Chaiyaphum District, Chaiyaphum Province along with all structures registered under the defendant's name, the defendant later met with the enforcement officer and presented evidence proving full payment had already been made. The enforcement officer immediately contacted the plaintiff, who acknowledged the data error and requested immediate withdrawal of the seizure. The land seizure was successfully withdrawn on May 12, 2025. The Director-General further stated that citizens with questions or concerns regarding debt enforcement matters can seek information and consultation on civil enforcement procedures, bankruptcy enforcement, dispute mediation, and asset declaration at any nationwide Debt Enforcement Office, by calling 0-2881-4999, the Debt Enforcement Office hotline at 1111 extension 79, or visiting www.led.go.th.

On May 13, 2569, Police General Suriya Singhakamol, Secretary-General of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, announced the arrest of six suspects along with 300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine concealed in a van at a gas station in Bangkok's Ratchathewi district. The suspects, all from Narathiwat province, are accused of trafficking Class 1 narcotics without authorization for commercial purposes, endangering public safety and national security.

Authorities expanded their search across five locations in Narathiwat province (Chaiya Irong, Sukhirin, and Suhaikhohok subdistricts) and seized assets valued at 46 million baht, including real estate, coin-operated laundries, vehicles, jewelry, and branded merchandise. According to Police General Suriya, the arrest was the result of coordinated intelligence between the Narcotics Control Board and the Special Operation and Investigation Command Unit 191 of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, which tracked the network's activities of transporting methamphetamine to southern Thailand using vehicles with altered license plates to evade authorities.

On May 10, authorities received intelligence that the group was preparing to transport narcotics, leading to close surveillance. On May 12, when officers discovered the van at a gas station in Ratchathewi, they found 300 kilograms of ice inside and arrested all six suspects. Investigators believe the methamphetamine was destined for southern Thailand and further transport to a third country. Police General Suriya emphasized that the Office of the Narcotics Control Board will work with relevant agencies to expand the investigation, gather evidence, and prosecute all individuals involved up to the kingpin level, while pursuing asset seizures and dismantling the entire drug trafficking network in accordance with government policy.

In Khon Kaen province, farmers observe the traditional Crop Blessing Day to plant rice this year, hoping for abundant harvests. Farmers are advised to use walking tractors to reduce average field preparation costs to 50 baht per rai, while appealing to the government to monitor fertilizer and rice prices.

May 13, 2026 – Somchai Siriserm, a farmer from Ban Ton Noi village in Ban Kho subdistrict, Mueang Khon Kaen district, Khon Kaen province, is using a walking tractor to prepare the soil in his paddy field to plant rain-fed rice this year. He observes the Crop Blessing Day, known locally as the First Blessing Day, as an auspicious occasion for planting, following tradition as he has done every year. Somchai explains that this day holds significant importance for farmers because it marks the right moment for agricultural activities and is a belief passed down through generations. He has begun soil preparation on one rai of land, choosing this auspicious day to plant his rice.

This year, he selected direct seeding rather than transplanting to reduce costs. Once seeds are sown, he waits for rain to naturally germinate them. With continuous rainfall expected this season, he can begin rice planting.

His rice cultivation strategy involves plowing under rice stubble after harvest, then planting velvet beans until they die back, which he then plows in as organic fertilizer. By May, after tilling the soil again, the decomposed velvet beans serve as additional fertilizer.

Beyond using velvet beans as fertilizer, Somchai uses his walking tractor instead of hiring larger tractors, saving 50 baht per rai in fuel costs compared to 350 baht per rai when hiring machinery – a significant cost reduction.

However, Somchai appeals to the government to ensure rain-fed rice prices are fair and cover production costs. Current high fuel prices have increased farming expenses, with tractor preparation and harvesting costs reaching nearly 1,000 baht per rai combined. Despite these costs, farmers must continue farming to feed their families, selling any surplus.

He urges the government to balance rice prices with fertilizer and fuel costs, which form the basis of production expenses, so farmers can sustain themselves without losses from rice farming.

CHONBURI — On May 13, 2026, rescue teams and over 50 villagers launched an overnight search for a 54-year-old man with a neurological condition who had wandered away from his home. The man was eventually found exhausted but unharmed in a forested area after a thermal-imaging drone detected his heat signature.

Rescue workers from Sawanghet Thung Hiang Rescue Unit received the alert around 8 p.m. on Tuesday that the man had gone missing near Wat Krabok Khu in Moo 5, Tha Bun Mi subdistrict, Ko Chan district, Chonburi. According to relatives, he had disappeared from his home around 6 p.m. After initial family searches proved unsuccessful, local authorities and rescue teams were called in.

Village Head Janjira Thongthanom coordinated the response, mobilizing local officials, village leaders, a rapid response unit from the Department of National Parks, rescue workers, and villagers to search the dense forest surrounding the community. The thermal-imaging drone proved decisive, detecting a heat signature near a pond approximately 600 meters from the man's residence. Ground teams reached the location around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday and found him alive and largely unharmed, though in an exhausted state. Both family members and rescue teams expressed their relief once he was brought to safety.

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has cast aside fears that the government’s B400 billion emergency loan decree could be derailed after the opposition petitioned the Constitutional Court for a ruling on its legality.

At 8:37 a.m. on May 13, 2025, His Majesty traveled by royal motorcade to the ceremonial grounds at Sanam Luang to preside over the annual Royal Plowing Ceremony, an auspicious event designed to boost agricultural morale and inspire farmers' confidence in their planting season. Prime Minister Anuthim Chansuweerakul, cabinet members, and diplomatic corps attended the sacred ritual.

The ceremony traditionally marks the beginning of the rice-planting season, with this year's auspicious plowing window set between 8:09-8:39 a.m. Vinayarod Supsungsuk, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, served as the Chief Plowman (Phraya Rai Na), while two goddess attendants participated in the ritual proceedings.

Seven rice seed varieties were sown during the ceremony, including jasmine rice, sticky rice, and fragrant Khlong Luang varieties, totaling 5,147 kilograms of seeds to be distributed as blessings to farmers nationwide.

Fortune-telling results from the sacred oxen Pho and Piang revealed several prophecies: when the cloth measurement yielded 6 cubits, it predicted adequate water with good harvests in lowland areas but some damage in upland regions. The oxen's consumption of beans or sesame predicted abundant food and provisions. Water or grass consumption indicated sufficient water flow, with good crop and livestock abundance expected.