Hospital staff join with public to remember late King

Hospital staff join with public to remember late King

Hospital staff of Siriraj hospital joined members of the public in paying respect to the late HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the first anniversary of his passing on Friday.

People of all walks of life – many of them who kept vigil at the hospital a year ago to pray for their beloved when he was given medical treatment at the hospital – gathered at the hospital since the morning to participate in activities organized by the hospital in remembrance of the late King.  Almost every inch of the space on the hospital ground was packed with people.

At exactly 3.52 pm, all the people there joined their countrymen throughout the country to observe 89-second silence in honor of the late King.

At 6.30 pm, a brass band of the Royal Thai Navy played songs written by the late King as the choir which included several celebrity singers and entertainment performers as well as the general public sang along on the spacious yard in front of the statue of Prince Mahidol, the father of Thai medicines.

Professor Dr Prasit Wattanapa, dean of the medical science faculty of Siriraj hospital and 89 staff members in singing the songs – Tonmai Khong Por (Fatheer’s Tree) and Phra Racha Phu Songtham (The Benevolent King).

Simultaneously on the same day, merit-making ceremonies were held at all Thai embassies throughout the world.

At the Thai embassy in Singapore, embassy staff led by Ambassador Thongvhai Chasawat joined a group of Thai people living in Singapore in a religious ceremony held at the embassy ground.  Ten monks from temples in the island state were invited to perform the ceremony and to pray.

Source: PBS