Flood Relief Donor Duped By Fake Volunteer In Southern Thailand
A man posing as a volunteer swindled multiple donors out of nearly one million baht by claiming to use donations for flood‑relief cooking. Among the victims was Dr. Phonthipa Suphanthakul (Dr. Fah), who transferred over 400,000 baht after seeing regular photo updates of meals. Police have been alerted and the public is urged to verify charity requests before donating.
A man nicknamed 'Little Mistletoe Saint' (First Little Mustache Saint) claimed to be a volunteer seeking donations to cook food for flood victims. He convinced several donors, including Dr. Phonthipa Suphanthakul (Dr. Fah), to transfer money, providing chat records and transfer slips as proof. Dr. Fah said she had previously donated cash and supplies to support mobile kitchens for flood‑relief workers and the public in Hat Yai, Songkhla, after a rescue‑unit representative asked for help with travel expenses, cleaning supplies, and setting up a temporary kitchen at a shelter in the Kantarat area. She gave a truckload of consumables, 10,000 baht in cash, and transferred another 10,000 baht the same night, with further transfers of about 20,000 baht on some days after learning over 400 people needed meals. Regular photo updates of the food made her believe the donations were being used as promised. Later, she asked her grandson to verify the situation on site, and he found that some of the meals shown in the photos might have been prepared by local agencies or other organizations already. Suspicions also emerged that the donated money was spent on personal expenses such as night outings and women, according to information from close acquaintances of the suspect. The total alleged losses from the scheme are close to 1 million baht, and police have been notified.
