27.9 C
Pattaya
Friday, March 29, 2024

Portuguese expat reported missing found in a psychiatric ward of a hospital in Bangkok

spot_img

Must read

An expatriate resident of Bangkok, who was reported missing 9 days ago, has been found in a psychiatric ward in the capital. Portuguese 27-year-old Alexandre Freitas was found at Somdet Chao Phraya Hospital, in the Khlong San neighbourhood, after he was accused of stealing sunglasses from a shopping centre in the capital.

According to an article in the magazine “Coconuts”, the man’s friend Stuart Holden says that Freitas did not intend to steal the sunglasses, but because he is mentally not in order.

He walked into the “Emporium” shopping centre and tried to take sunglasses worth 30,000 baht due to his illness. However, when he ended up behind bars, he went insane, took off his clothes and was taken to a psychiatric ward to be evaluated.”

It appears that Holden was unaware that his friend had been transferred to a psychiatric ward and took to social media to offer a 30,000 baht reward for information on his friend’s whereabouts. He was then contacted by Facebook user Khlongfang Klangthung, who helped him find Freitas.

Khlongfang says she saw Holden’s plea on social media and spoke to police at the mall. Police told her Freitas was taken to Thonglor Police Station after he was accused of stealing the sunglasses. She says it seems his mental state led him to steal the glasses. According to Holden, Freitas is prone to audio and visual hallucinations.

Khlongfang says she has been in contact with the Portuguese man’s family and that his father will arrive in Bangkok on Sunday to pick up his son. Obviously, Freitas has lived and worked in Bangkok and first started experiencing mental health issues 2 years ago.

Meanwhile, Holden has expressed disappointment with the authorities for failing to notify him or the Portuguese embassy while detaining Freitas for several days.

“Just yesterday they notified the embassy about the post I made on Facebook. Now they tell me he needs to be held for 10 days to confirm that he was not in the right frame of mind to be released so we can transfer him to the correct hospital.

Catch up on more stories here

Follow us on Facebook here

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -spot_img
- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest article