Elderly Man Recounts Year-Long Abuse in Kanchanaburi Shelter
A 70-year-old man said his daughter had him sent to a shelter in Kanchanaburi after a land dispute, where he was locked in a cage for nearly a year and subjected to harsh conditions. He escaped with the help of another inmate, Aunt Pat, but emerged penniless and vowed to prosecute those responsible for the abuse. He blamed his daughter's friends for causing the family rift and hopes she will reconsider their relationship.
Lung Luang explained that after his wife's death, a disagreement over land ownership with his daughter led to her having him taken to a shelter in Nonthaburi in January 2023. He was held there for about three months before escaping, only to be recaptured by individuals posing as foundation workers who handed him over to a shelter in Kanchanaburi. In the Kanchanaburi facility he was confined in a 2-by-2-meter cage for almost a year, forced to urinate and defecate in a detergent-filled bucket, given only one bottle of water a day, and threatened with violence if he did not comply. He said he and Aunt Pat, another inmate, cried together daily and secretly planned an escape using a pen to mark their bed. He managed to leave first when the shelter reported his daughter owed 200,000 to 300,000 baht in fees; he was dropped off at Sai Tai Mai with only the clothes on his back and 300 baht in cash. Lung Luang expressed sorrow over the inhumane treatment by the fake foundation staff, who allegedly earned 5,000 baht per elderly person delivered. He said he holds his daughter's friends responsible for tearing his family apart and intends to pursue legal action against them to the fullest extent, while hoping his daughter will reconsider and reconcile.
