On July 15, 2026, Kaew Odedt, mother of 18-year-old Laotian bar server Wiangporn Jindavongse who died in a fire, traveled to the police hospital's forensic institute to obtain documents for the Lao embassy in order to arrange her daughter's body to be sent back to Vientiane tomorrow.

Kaew disclosed that she had recently recovered from fainting and came to handle the paperwork. She must also return to Chachoengsao province to obtain a death certificate, since her daughter died at Chachoengsao Hospital. However, last night her daughter's spirit appeared in a dream to relatives, saying she wanted to go home because she was cold and was sleeping alone.

Today, when collecting her daughter's belongings from her room, Kaew found a piggy bank with a message written on it: "Don't touch this—it's dad's heart." She believes her daughter had been saving money in it for her father and did not dare to open it, intending to take it back to her father in Vientiane. Her daughter normally also set aside money for her mother.

"She had worked here for seven months, and on the day it happened, she told me she would take me on a trip because she had saved enough money. It was a beautiful place in Thailand, but in the end we didn't go," Kaew said, breaking down in tears immediately.

Kaew also shared that after the incident, she went to see her daughter at Rama 9 Hospital, where her daughter cried. She told her daughter to be strong for her mother and siblings and not to give up. However, when she was transferred to Chachoengsao Hospital, her condition worsened and she passed away.

Her daughter had a lovely nature and was beloved wherever she went. Customers at the bar felt sorry for her because she was kind to everyone. Kaew said she cannot speak properly about what happened, as she had only recently been discharged from the hospital after fainting. She is heartbroken over her daughter's passing, as her daughter's appearance changed drastically—her face was swollen and bruised.

However, when her daughter appeared in the dreams of those around her, she was wearing white clothes and her face looked normal. She said she was hungry and wanted to go home because it was very cold there. While Kaew did not have the same dream as other relatives, she felt her daughter came to see her last night. She sensed a burnt smell, like that of someone burned by fire, so she lit incense and spoke to her daughter's spirit, telling her not to worry. After that, the smell disappeared, and she became convinced that her daughter had come to visit her.

Before public hearings on a new Thai steel standard, intimidating letters have been sent to committee members by lawyers representing capital groups operating induction furnace (IF) mills, pressuring them to reverse their stance on the draft standard. Sources in the steel industry report that multiple IPSC committee members received threatening letters from IF mill operators' legal representatives, with some academics and civil servants becoming too intimidated to sign off in committee meetings.

At a parliamentary industrial affairs committee session, Chinese capital groups claimed that China still uses IF furnaces, but Thai industry representatives countered that this is misleading—comparing it to controlled narcotics permitted only for medical use in Thailand while being banned for general use. Thai representatives argued that the Chinese government has actually ordered these furnaces out of the country because they produce low-quality, polluting steel that damages the economy.

Concerns that shutting down or tightening controls on the estimated 5–7 non-compliant mills would cause a steel shortage are unfounded, according to industry sources. Many standard Thai mills currently operate at only 60% capacity and could easily increase production if illegal IF mills shut down. Industry groups support the IPSC's proposal for a 3–5 year transition period allowing mills to upgrade to cleaner electric arc furnace (EAF) technology or install online pollution controls. The illegal IF mills are also accused of tax evasion, metal scrap fraud, and hiring mainly foreign workers, providing little economic benefit while creating severe pollution.

A school principal in Samut Songkhram has voiced strong opposition to the government's proposed cuts to civil service benefits, including healthcare and pensions, which are intended to ease the national budget burden.

Phra Akhlaksana Khaonual, director of Wat Ku Sanam Chan School in Mueang District, spoke on behalf of lower-level civil servants, arguing they accepted significantly lower salaries than private sector counterparts in the expectation of secure healthcare and retirement benefits. He cited his own experience: when he started work in 1994, he earned only 5,560 baht per month with no housing allowance, while peers in the private sector earned 20,000 to 30,000 baht—many times higher.

Khaonual argued that civil servants have lived frugally for decades, relying on their pension as a lifeline in retirement. If the government must cut benefits, he said, it should instead reduce parliamentary perks first and raise starting salaries for new hires to private-sector levels, giving them a genuine choice between government and private employment. He noted that cutting benefits for current workers who made a different deal would be unfair, especially since they serve for 25 years before qualifying for a pension, unlike politicians who work only 2–4 years yet receive substantial perks.

On July 15, 2569, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchat Chomklin and senior ministry officials participated in filming a promotional video for a boat merit-making ceremony to promote the upcoming royal birthday celebration. The government has scheduled the "Waters of Life: Under the Umbrella of Royal Grace, Preserving the Rattanakosin Way" event for July 24–26, 2569 at Sanam Luang park and the area surrounding Koh Rattanakosin, as part of a royal initiative to develop canals and waterways.

The event aims to provide citizens with the opportunity to make merit offerings in honor of His Majesty, express their loyalty and gratitude for the Royal kindness, and preserve and promote the cultural and artistic values of riverside life and the identity of Rattanakosin. For the boat alms-giving ceremony, 225 Buddhist monks from 40 temples will receive alms across three canal routes: Khlong Rong Koh Rattanakosin, Khlong Prem Prachakon, and Khlong Saen Saep. Cabinet members, government officials, private sector representatives, and the general public participated in the ceremony, demonstrating unified cooperation across all sectors in honoring the Monarchy and preserving Thai waterside cultural traditions.

The Central Committee for Local Government Employee Examinations (GSTS) under the Department of Local Administration has declared its integrity in the major fraud case involving local civil service recruitment. The committee will submit 5,814 exam candidates whose scores were abnormal to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for verification against the original answer sheets. The committee also decided to send all 5,814 names to the Central Civil Service and Local Government Employee Committee to consider whether their appointments should be revoked. A joint meeting is scheduled for July 23, 2026, with representatives from provincial administrative organizations, municipalities, and subdistrict councils to review and decide the matter.

On the criminal investigation side, Prime Minister Anution Chanyaweerkulkul and the Interior Minister attended a case review meeting with the Central Investigation Police, NACC representatives, and the Office of the Ombudsman. Police have found evidence and arrested three initial suspects, but all three have maintained their denials. Investigators are now pursuing leads to identify the masterminds and other members of the conspiracy. Additionally, investigators are preparing to summon 11 more local government officials. The NACC has also accepted the case for fact-finding investigation and elevated it to special case status due to the involvement of senior-level officials.

This marks significant progress in the civil service exam fraud case. The Prime Minister and Interior Minister have previously stated that anyone involved, regardless of their status, will face consequences, and that no one connected to Bhumjaithai Party members will be spared—all will be prosecuted under the law. The exam fraud case is considered major and notorious because it involved a large-scale conspiracy affecting approximately 6,000 people with preliminary damages estimated at over 4.5 billion baht. Significantly, the case has implicated senior officials including directors-general, deputy directors-general, deputy governors, and provincial administrative organization secretaries. The scale of the conspiracy has raised suspicions about whether politicians or ministerial-level figures are orchestrating the scheme from behind the scenes.

Public expectations are high that the investigation will be expanded to expose those behind the operation completely and thoroughly, not merely at the lower operational levels.

Police received a report at 8:10 a.m. on July 15, 2025, of a male body discovered in a bathroom at the Bangkok Water Authority's Khlong Hualamphong dormitory in Khlong Toei district. The deceased, identified as Ampai, 54, a water authority employee, was found lying face-up in a pool of blood. A coworker stated he found the bathroom door locked from outside around 7 a.m., retrieved a key from the dormitory, and discovered Ampai's body upon returning. The coworker called another employee, Golf, 42, to help remove the body before notifying police. Golf later fled the scene.

Investigators tracked Golf through CCTV footage to a hotel in the Samrarn Rat police precinct area where they apprehended him. During questioning, Golf confessed to killing Ampai by striking his head twice with a wooden object found at the scene. Golf admitted he had withdrawn approximately 40,000 baht from Ampai's mobile phone the previous night. When Ampai discovered the unauthorized withdrawal and refused to let the matter go, Golf attacked him and then hid the body in the bathroom.

Police filed charges of murder and concealing, moving, or destroying a corpse to cover up a death. Golf was handed over to investigators for legal proceedings.