Leader of feces-eating cult arrested after 11 dead bodies found during raid

Thai police raided the compound of a suspected cult leader in Chaiyaphum province on Sunday, discovering not less than 11 bodies in the course of the search. Local authorities have been able to raid the compound after the group allegedly violated land encroachment laws and broke Covid-19 restriction legal guidelines.

Law enforcement had already been made conscious of the group after allegations had been shared that the community had been consuming the bodily fluids of its chief. After police made their approach onto the camp grounds, police then found the stays of 11 bodies in coffins.

However, the group was only able to provide dying certificates belonging to five of the 11 of the deceased. Police have ordered autopsies to be conducted to ascertain the causes of death of the our bodies.

The suspected leader of the group has been detained for questioning, but earlier than the arrest lots of his followers attempted to stop police from arresting the elderly man during the raid. 

The unusual group was identified in the area to conduct themselves in a religious-like manner, the place devotees of the “father,” Thawee Nanra, 75, would do virtually anything for the man. Some say he would force his followers to drink his urine, eat his feces, and devour dust as a way to heal bodily illnesses.

Cult-like teams usually are not uncommon in Thailand. In 2019, a ‘rape cult’ on Koh Phangan was revelaed the place feminine college students say they were promised spiritual practice solely to be coerced into sex or raped by its founder. Last 12 months, an elderly monk decapitated himself with a homemade gadget in an attempt to reincarnate as a higher being. His followers helped him build the contraption and helped him commit suicide. More extensively identified is the Dhammakaya group, a massively rich Buddhist sect that critics and former followers name a cult.

The incident has shortly gone viral on social media, with netizens sharing their disgust in opposition to the cult’s practices of consuming human waste. The Thai-language hashtag #พระบิดา (#Father) saw over 141,000 mentions as of Monday’s afternoon.

A snippet from tv exhibits a girl, who appears to be a member of the cult, saying that she didn't detect any unpleasant odor while consuming the human waste.  

“There isn’t even an odor,” the girl remarked. “Only those with a tainted mind may odor it.”

"ไม่มีกลิ่นหรอกค่ะ มีแต่คนจิตไม่ดีเท่านั้นเเหละค่ะที่จะได้กลิ่น"
กูหลุดขำกับคำพูดนี้มาก ยายแกคิดได้ไง5555555555555555#พระบิดา pic.twitter.com/rNOaZJBLxq

One twitter person identified that the one who uncovered this cult was Mor Pla, a celeb volunteer who has helped uncover suspicious religious circumstances, rather than local authorities. 

“It was purported to be the police that raided this cult within the first place, isn’t it?,” one Twitter person questioned.

ที่งงคือทำไมถึงต้องเป็นหมอปลาที่เป็นคนประสานหรือนำสังคมไปเจอเรื่องอะไรแบบนี้ ทั้งที่คนที่ควรจะเป็นบุกไปจับ ไปเจอ หรือเปิดเผยมันควรเป็น ตร. หรือ จนท. ของรัฐ ไม่ใช่หรอ ทำไมถึงปล่อยให้มีเรื่องขนาดนี้เกิดขึ้น สุดจริงบ้านนี้เมืองนี้ #พระบิดา

A number of tweets describe what occurred as a failure of Thailand’s training system, notably in the area of hygiene. “I can’t bear the considered more than half of the country being like this,” another Twitter consumer wrote.
Thai Enquirer tried to reach local police in Chaiyaphum for remark, but they did not respond by the point of publishing.

Authorities are still looking the group’s compound for other suspicious material. This is an ongoing story and we can have more details within the coming days.