Temple Fish Feeding Drama: Young Man Brings Own Feed by the Sack, Confronted by Aggressive Caretaker
A man's attempt to feed fish at a Chachoengsao temple with his own purchased feed sparked conflict with an aggressive caretaker, prompting calls for better management of the merit-making station.
A contentious online dispute involving temple fish feeding has gone viral in Chachoengsao province after a social media user posted a one-minute video documenting an incident at Pong Aakad Temple in Bang Nam Phueo District. The user brought a sack of fish feed to make a merit donation with his family, but was treated with hostility and harsh language by the male caretaker managing the fish feeding station.
On May 6, 2569, a reporter visited the temple to investigate and found the male caretaker was not present. The automatic 10-baht coin donation box that appeared covered in the clip was found open, with some feeding equipment scattered about. However, the 20-baht merit donation box where the caretaker had been sitting remained in its original position.
When interviewed, the person who posted the video identified himself as Suphanat, 31 years old. He revealed that he and his family regularly bring fish feed to this temple each month as a personal merit-making practice, since he works in the Buddha amulet trading business. On the afternoon in question, he purchased his own sack of fish feed worth over 300 baht because he felt the limited feed sold at the temple might not be sufficient for the large number of fish in the pond.
Suphanat explained that he normally feeds the fish at a different location, but switched to this spot due to construction debris at his usual feeding point. He asked the caretaker politely to borrow a feeding scoop, but was refused in an unfriendly manner. Undeterred, he retrieved a plastic container from his car instead. However, when he and his family began feeding the fish, the caretaker verbally attacked them aggressively.
Feeling confronted, Suphanat recorded the caretaker's behavior on his phone. Upon realizing he was being filmed, the caretaker fell silent and claimed his harsh tone was due to fear that splashing water might flood the fish pen. Some online commenters have suggested the caretaker's fish feed may be independently operated rather than temple-sanctioned, potentially explaining his resistance to outside feed.
Suphanat emphasized that he did not intend to create conflict with the temple, but was provoked when the caretaker challenged him to report the incident to the abbot. He hopes that temple authorities or relevant organizations will establish better management and improve oversight of the fish feeding station, so that merit-makers can donate peacefully without experiencing such unpleasant encounters.
