A Thai mother has alleged that her son had her taken against her will to an elderly care centre, where she remained for more than two and a half years, before returning home to find her cosmetics business and valuable assets no longer under her control.
The 63 year old, referred to as Phat, appeared on the Hone Krasae programme yesterday, October 5, to call for investigations into both her treatment at the care centre and what happened to her business and property while she was away.
Phat said she entered the cosmetics industry in 2012 and later built her own factory in the Lat Phrao area, which was completed in 2017.
In 2022, she allowed her son and daughter-in-law to manage the business, while she and her daughter, Beam, received salaries of 50,000 baht each.
Phat alleged that the factory’s name was changed within months without her knowing at first.
In 2024, her son reportedly told her that the factory was losing money and that he could no longer manage it. Phat said she began preparing to take control of the business again.
She alleged that on February 21, 2024, her son arrived at her home with two men, supposedly to discuss the factory.
According to Phat, the men restrained her, covered her mouth and forced her into a private ambulance after claims were made that she had psychiatric problems.
She said she was taken to a care facility in Kanchanaburi despite repeatedly saying she did not want to stay there.
Phat alleged that she was stripped, handcuffed to a bed, forced to take sleeping medication and made to wear a nappy. She said she was initially locked alone in a room for about a month without a toilet and later restrained to a chair from around 7am to 4pm each day for about a year.
She remained at the facility for more than two and a half years before managing to pass her younger sister’s telephone number to another resident who was leaving.
Her sister, referred to as Ee, said she received a call telling her that Phat was being held at the centre.
Ee said she sought help from Phat’s son, Benz, but he initially refused to bring his mother home. He later accompanied her to collect Phat from the facility.
The care centre owner, referred to as Maeow, disputed several parts of Phat’s account.
Maeow said Phat’s son arranged for her admission using a private ambulance and told the centre there had been violence within the family.
She denied that Phat had been stripped and said separate rooms could be used for psychiatric patients.
Maeow acknowledged that Phat did not want to stay at the centre but said the facility had been contracted to care for her for 20,000 baht a month.
She also defended the centre’s conditions, saying the Department of Health had inspected it.
Phat’s daughter Beam said she initially believed her brother had taken their mother for psychiatric treatment, but grew suspicious after Phat remained away for months and he became angry when questioned.
After leaving the care centre, Phat said she discovered that control of her cosmetics factory had shifted to her son and daughter-in-law and that property from her home and safe was missing.
She claimed the safe had contained around 100 baht-weight (1.52 kg) of gold bars, gold jewellery worth about 9 million baht, diamonds and luxury bags.
Phat later underwent a psychiatric assessment and presented a medical certificate during the programme.
She has filed a police complaint over her allegations that she was forcibly taken away and confined, as well as a separate complaint concerning the missing safe and property.
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