Man Collapses: A drunk thief thought he had been caught by the spirit of the great Naga, a mythical serpent, after he stole almost Bt30,000 from a donation box for the maintenance of a naga statue in Mukdahan Monday.
The alleged thief, Sorawit Somboon, 55, suddenly collapsed and remained lying in front of the Phaya Sriphuchong Mukda Nagaraj statue in Mukdahan’s Wan Yai district shortly after he broke the box and stole Bt29,639.50.
After police helped him up and took him to the station, Sorawit told them he had tried to run away after the theft but had felt something holding him until he could not breathe, and so he collapsed and lay there helplessly.
Some Thais believe there are fearsome Mekong River-dwelling guardian spirits, or naga, that manifest themselves as giant serpents.
