Neighbor Complains of Late-Night Chanting, Curry Thrown
A Ko Lanta resident filed a noise complaint against his neighbor for late-night Buddhist chanting, drumming, and guitar playing, plus throwing foul-smelling curry bags—claims the neighbor initially denied before admitting to the curry incid
On July 15, 2569, the radio program Khon Kra-Aew discussed a complaint by resident Khun Phai, who says he has suffered greatly from his neighbor's disruptive conduct, including loud Buddhist chanting, drumming, and guitar playing, with the worst being the throwing of foul-smelling curry bags.
Khun Phai, accompanied by his parents, explained that the adjacent house was originally occupied by the neighbor's father (whom he called Khun Akon). When Khun Akon lived there, there were no problems and they were good neighbors. However, once Khun Akon's son—the defendant Khun Aek—moved in, the noise began and problems erupted. The disturbances became so severe that even Khun Akon could not stay, his siblings had to move him out, and Khun Aek's wife also had to leave. Khun Phai said his mother, who has a heart condition, has been severely affected, waking at night to take medicine and struggling to return to sleep. She is now under significant stress.
"We've reported this to the district office and police, but nothing has been resolved," Khun Phai said. "The behavior has actually escalated. The worst part is the foul-smelling curry bags thrown almost every other day. We've installed CCTV and clearly captured a hand throwing from his house."
Khun Aek then called the radio program to respond. He said he runs a second-hand musical instrument business and insisted the chanting was at normal volume. He argued that claims about noise levels should be measured with proper instruments—otherwise anyone could claim something is loud. He denied making noise late at night, saying that if he told someone to sleep, he would also need to sleep himself. Although the program played a recording of loud noise at 2 a.m., Khun Aek denied responsibility and offered to let investigators check his own CCTV footage.
Khun Aek claimed he too was a victim, with people breaking into his home, removing windows, and causing property damage. When asked about throwing curry bags, Khun Aek first denied it, but when confronted with footage and pressed on who else could have thrown it, he eventually admitted: "Ah, okay, yes I did." He said he did it out of anger because people had broken into his home multiple times.
Khun Aek described his own suffering: he has been burglarized multiple times since 2559 with no resolution or accountability. He invited investigators to visit his home to see the actual situation, rather than judge based on one side and emotions. He asked who would be responsible for the damage he has suffered if he did nothing.
When asked about a recent knocking on his wall early in the morning, Khun Aek denied knowledge and blamed rats, then countered by asking whether others must sleep while he cannot.
