CHAI NAT — 10 August 2026, patients at Chai Nat Narenthorn Hospital were briefly alarmed after a monk waiting outside the pharmacy appeared to be carrying a handgun.
Police were called to the hospital after people saw what looked like the black grip of a gun protruding from the pocket of his outer robe.
Officers found that the object was a plastic imitation gun attached to a mobile phone case. They removed and seized it, and warned the monk that it could cause panic even if he had no harmful intent.
The monk, from Chai Nat’s Noen Kham district, told police he had bought the case through TikTok because it felt comfortable to hold. He said he had come to the hospital for a scheduled appointment and prescription, and promised he would not do it again.