Man arrested for fake story about pregnant wife in collapsed building

A 51-year-old man was arrested Monday for falsely claiming his pregnant wife was trapped under the State Audit Office wreckage in Chatuchak district.

Among those waiting for the rescue of victims trapped inside the building, which collapsed due to the earthquake last Friday, was Somnit Duangnet. He claimed that his wife, who was four months pregnant, was trapped inside.

He said his wife had contacted him, mentioning that the building was shaking, and that he had lost contact with her since then. He added that he had been desperately searching for her despite a lack of sleep, insisting that he still had hope.

However, a Facebook page called "Big Kren" exposed the story, revealing that Somnit’s daughter was searching for him after she saw the news. The page claimed that the daughter had not seen Somnit for eight years, stating that he had caused significant trouble until her mother filed for divorce.

The police arrested Somnit and took him to Bang Sue Police Station for questioning.



Meanwhile, a 25-year-old woman who was falsely implicated in Somnit’s fabricated story filed a complaint against him, stating that his lies had caused panic among her family.

Kornwipa Sonbuppa lodged the complaint at Bang Sue Police Station after seeing her former employee ID card appear in the news.

She told the press that she had worked as a part-time employee at a shop in a department store in the Rama IX area in 2019. She explained that she had resigned and returned her employee card to the shop.

"I am currently working for a company that manufactures and distributes golf clothing," she said.

Kornwipa claimed that Somnit’s fabricated story had defamed her, even though she had no connection to him. She also stated that her mother was left in shock after receiving a call from the Local Administrative Organisation, informing her that Kornwipa had died.

She expressed confusion over how her former employee card ended up in Somnit's possession.

Kornwipa stressed that she could not accept this situation, as Somnit had exploited it for his own benefit. She also firmly stated that she would never be Somnit’s wife.

(2025/04/01-00:00)