Thai Officials Probe Abuse at Nonthaburi Elderly Home
Thai health officials inspected an elderly care center in Nonthaburi after abuse claims were made on a TV talk show. Patients alleged they had been chained, denied food and water, and that staff hid the evidence before the inspection. Authorities said the facility lacked proper licensing for psychiatric care and would face legal action if violations are confirmed.
Health officials inspected an elderly care center in Nonthaburi after abuse allegations were aired on the talk show 'Hone Krasae'. They said they found no patients chained, but the facility lacked permission to treat psychiatric patients. The situation shifted when patients shouted from windows, claiming they had actually been chained, deprived of food and water for days, and that staff had hidden the chains before the inspection. On October 7, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., Porathep Lomphrom, director of the Health Establishment Office, and Suchai Singho, director of Regional Health Support Center 4, accompanied by police from Mueang Nonthaburi Station, visited the facility in Soi Rewadi 22, Tambon Talat Khwan. The three‑story building housed about 15 beds placed head‑to‑toe in a communal room with a shared toilet and locked doors to prevent escape. Initial checks found 81 male psychiatric and elderly residents, but no chains were seen. Licensing records showed permission for only nine elderly residents, with no authorization for psychiatric care and no psychiatrist or specialist nurse on duty—a matter for police to investigate. Officials said a more detailed inspection would follow the next day, and any violations would be prosecuted while relatives would be contacted to take residents home. As reporters waited, several patients shouted through windows that they had been shackled to their beds after trying to flee, sometimes left without food or water for days, and insisted the abuse was real, adding that staff had removed the chains and hidden them before the officials arrived.
