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Crazed Elephant Kills Thai Wife On Rayong Beach | Pattaya Daily News - Pattaya Newspaper, Powerful news at your fingertips

Crazed Elephant Kills Thai Wife On Rayong Beach


A 56-year-old Thai wife of a farang was fatally gored by a 2-year-old elephant on Maerampung beach. She was buying sugar cane to feed the elephant when it attacked her. The mahout said the hot weather had crazed the normally docile beast. The mahout and the elephant’s owner will be prosecuted by police.

RAYONG – March 4, 2013 [PDN]; At 5:30 p.m., a report of an elephant killing a Thai female tourist was received by Pol. Lt. Capt. Thawatch Norsingha, Muangrayong police station, Rayong.

Rescuers from Sawangpornkusol foundation Rayong reported that a 2-year-old elephant went insane and used its tusk to gore a Thai tourist on Maerampung beach. The victim was severely injured and died in Rayong hospital.

Police officers arriving at the scene found the elephant, named Plai Boonchoo, 2 years old, was being chained on his front legs in Khaosap temple, Pae, Muang. The elephant was acting insane, whining loudly all the time and shocking tourists, who quickly fled because they were afraid the elephant would kill more people.

Officers went to the hospital emergency room to check on the victim, and discovered she had died from her injuries. Her collarbones were broken, and her lungs had been pierced, with blood shed inside her rib cage area. The victim was identified as Mrs. Sairung Kraja, 56 years old. Standing sadly near her body was her husband, Mr. Helmut Schoeler , 63 years old, nationality German.

Mr. Helmut told police that he and his wife were staying at the Rayong beach hotel on Maerampueng beach. He brought his wife to the beach, and they saw the mahout who came along with the elephant to beg for food, and was selling the sugar cane to feed the animal.



His wife who was always generous, went to the elephant. She was taking money from her purse to pay for the sugar cane to feed him. But the elephant stabbed her with its tusk, and she fell to the ground. The elephant then used its trunk to lift her up, and stabbed her several times with its tusk, in front of many horrified tourists.

Police questioned the mahout, identified as Mr. Thongjan Malignam, 26 years old, living in Krapo, Tatoom, Surin. He told police that he brought Plaiboonchoo to Maerampueng beach nearly every day to wander to sell sugar cane to Thai and foreign tourists.

Mr. Thongjan said this had never happened before with Plaiboonchoo, who was always cute and kind, and never hurt anyone. But today was too hot, and the elephant got annoyed and acted untamed, and he did not play with tourists like before.

Police also questioned the elephant’s owner, identified as Mr. Santawee Boonklao, 27 years old. He said the elephant was always sweet, and had never acted violently. He brought the big beast to the beach to wander to beg for food every day, and it was always fine.

Pol. Lt. Capt. Thawatch Norsingha said both Mr. Thongjan and Mr. Santawee will be prosecuted on charges of bringing an elephant to wander in public and causing someone’s death.

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"Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue take advantage of the credulity and inexperience of men who have no political, economic or civil knowledge. They mistake pure illusion for reality, license for freedom, treason for patriotism, vengeance for justice."-Simón Bolívar

cymru

Too hot for an elephant in March?....

blue

He should have listened to the signs then

VocalNeal

She was buying sugar cane. It wanted more Yabba!

Latindancer

Hot sand ?

richie22

Probably pissed off with being mistreated

Rural Surin

Stop using the elephants for our pleasure.

usual suspect

The Mahout & the elephant's owner were questioned by police...
...the very same police no doubt that 'allowed' the mahout to bring the beast onto the beach in the hot sun every day..we all know how it works..?
R.I.P. the poor Thai lady.

thegent

Fancy that. A two year old beast separated from its mother and then broken by being chained to a post going crazy when it's forced to trudge up and down a beach in the baking sun.
Fucking chicken head savages should be the ones chained to a post and fed the sugar cane. I'd queue up to do that.

aging one

A week ago it was 37 today it had cooled to 26 or 27. Thailand.

Kurgen

I'm not an expert but I reckon in the wild, elephants would be shading themselves from midday sun. I take it a fella with a metal hook stops them doing that, to the point of frustration.

I always thought/guessed the mahoot was the owner?
Just another reason for abuse??

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Kiss it

Bower

Feeding a 2 year old elephant copious amounts of sugar is not a good idea, its sure to make them bad tempered, just like giving your kids any amount of Pepsi or sweets.

Rural Surin

That's only if you assume that humans and pachyderms have similar life systems.

RickThai

Elephants are notorious for "acting out" and killing people. They reportedly kill more zoo keepers than any other animal.

Once one goes beserk, it's nice to have an elephant gun handy, as they are hard to kill with anything smaller than 400 grains of solids, pushed along at 2400 feet or so. The brain shot is quickest (imagine a broom handle inserted through the ear holes of the elephant and try to break it dead center). The shoulder shot is easier, but does not kill as quickly. However, if it hits properly, and with the right bullet/cartridge combination, it will break the animals shoulder, causing it to lose mobility (very often resulting in it toppling over in slow motion). A spinal shot will then anchor the animal permanently.

Unfortunately, in Thailand, an elephant is allowed to kill several people before it is killed (once semi-domesticated, a potentially-dangerous, wild animal can never be returned to the wild as it has lost all fear of humans.

My sincerest and deepest sympathies to the family of the unfortunate victim.

Rick

gaysexbyproxy

Jesus, I'm quite sure I know that exact elephant and mahout. Saw them there every day I went there, two or three times a month for about two years, until I recently moved away.

Never bought the cane, as I object strongly to the mistreatment of the animal, but countless people I was with those many different times did. Everybody who goes to Maerampheung can see it's the only baby around.

Always looked so cute and meek. I've even got a great shot of my buddy and his infant daughter up close enough to touch it's trunk. =[ I feel very sorry for those unfortunate folks...

kingwilly

RIP to the lady and condolences to the husband.

Elephants should not be treated that way.

tuktukdriver

Going bezerk after being offered sugar sounds more like a woman than a child.

Wizard of Oz

I never ever come close to an elephant, in Surin, we see quite a few. It is still a wild animal and no handler can ever control, an out of control elephant. They are too big, too strong.

wasabi

Sugar cane ferments into Cane spirits (Jamaican Rum) Elephants in Africa eat Marula fruit and it ferments in their stomachs,intoxication can result. Amarula drink.
With all that sugar cane grown in Thailand is Cane spirits available?

Thormaturge

Crazed Elephant Kills Thai Wife On Rayong Beach

For a moment there I thought someone had married an elephant.

Sugar cane, and pineapples too, in sufficient quantity, ferment inside an elephant's stomach which can make the pachyderm drunk. Usually they just fall over and sleep it off but I wouldn't be surprised if it made them aggressive too.

__________________
I see fish. They are everywhere. They don't know they are fish.

Just taking care of the doggie until his owner returns from holiday.


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BobR

It's ivory tusk, and on the same day they're arguing about the Ivory trade in Bangkok. If it were not an elephant I'd be screaming false flag attack

Latindancer

Apart from it being very sad, the irony IS rather extreme, isn't it ?

Zooheekock

Poor woman. Even in death, she only has an identity in as far as she is a 'Thai Wife'.

cisco999

I gather the lady did nothing wrong.


She wanted to buy food for the elephant and ended up dead as a result of that.

Sad event.

socal

Are you aware that most animals in the wild eat to live another day ?

Is that better for them ?