The Thai tourism and sports minister and netizens nationwide condemned a foreign couple for allowing their daughter to urinate in public at Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, in Bangkok. However, many Thais felt that the foreigners’ actions were not so serious.
A Thai man shared a picture of the incident on his Facebook account Harit Thavornkij, yesterday, May 8, with a caption read, “This happens in front of me, right outside the palace!”
Wat Phra Kaew, also known as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is located within the Grand Palace. The urination took place behind one of the temple’s halls near a palace building.
The image shows the foreign couple observing their young daughter as she urinated on the ground. Harit later revealed in the comment section that he believed the three were Chinese. However. their nationality has not yet been officially confirmed.
The post quickly went viral, with over 2,600 reactions, 680 comments, and 1,400 shares. Many Thai netizens expressed outrage, arguing the family disrespected a sacred temple and palace.
“They should be blacklisted and banned from the royal palace and other important Thai attractions. Authorities must make an example of them.”
“It’s time to focus on quality tourists.”
“Visa-free measures…”
“Their visas should be revoked and they should be deported.”
“No manners. People in your country should be ashamed.”
“I saw this family on the MRT train. The girl was disruptive, and my girlfriend smelled faeces on her. I suspected poor parenting but didn’t expect they’d be this bad.”
Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Phongpanich told MGR Online that the act was inappropriate due to the temple’s sanctity and saw that this might slightly affect the image of Thai tourism.
However, other Thais felt the reaction was excessive, arguing the child was too young to understand and likely had an urgent need to pee.
One netizen suggested the couple should face charges or a fine for negligence and public indecency. He compared this case to a Thai man charged under Section 112 for spraying graffiti on Wat Phra Kaew’s wall, highlighting the perceived preferential treatment of foreigners in Thailand.
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