Psychiatric crisis monk alarms Phayao bus terminal

2026-02-09 - 10:46

PHAYAO — 9 February 2026, A Buddhist monk suffering a psychiatric relapse caused alarm at the Phayao provincial bus terminal after jumping from a coach and shouting at people while awaiting a journey to Si Sa Ket province, authorities said. Witnesses said the monk behaved erratically in the passenger waiting area, glaring and yelling, prompting panic among travellers. Officials said the monk had a history of psychiatric illness and had run out of medication. He was identified as Phra Khatawat Chutintho, a monk from a temple in Samut Songkhram province who had been travelling on a walking pilgrimage and staying in the Dok Khamtai district before the incident. Despite attempts by laypeople to offer him water, the monk knocked it away and appeared unable to communicate coherently, officials said. Transport staff alerted police and rescue workers, who spent more than 20 minutes calmly persuading him to cooperate before taking him into care. Pilgrimage equipment believed to belong to the monk was found abandoned on a grassy area beside the terminal car park, police said. He was taken to Phayao Hospital for close medical supervision, and authorities said relatives would be contacted to arrange further treatment.