Police responded after a Swedish man blocked a road in Chiang Mai while attempting to help a sick pigeon on Friday, July 10. Locals claimed he developed mental issues after losing money to a Thai girlfriend.
Officers from Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station were called to the road outside the Red Cross Blood Donation Centre after receiving reports of a foreign man standing in the middle of the carriageway and obstructing traffic.
When officers arrived, they found a Swedish national, believed to be about 40 years old, holding a sick pigeon. According to police, the man was trying to save the bird by blowing air into its body. Officers spoke with him and persuaded him to move to the side of the road, allowing traffic to resume.
KhaoSod reported that residents in the area said the man had been staying at a guesthouse in central Chiang Mai for more than a month.
According to local residents, the Swedish man had been in a relationship with a Thai woman who worked at a bar in the city. They said they had often seen him travelling between Sweden and Chiang Mai during the relationship. Some residents alleged that the woman later left him after taking money from him, leaving him distressed.
However, police have not confirmed those claims, and there is no record of the Swedish man filing a fraud complaint in connection with the alleged incident. Officers have also not confirmed whether the man was suffering from a mental health condition.
Police did not say whether he was referred for medical assessment or treatment after the incident. Local media reported only that officers escorted him safely back to his accommodation.
In a separate case reported in 2024, a Russian man in Phuket sought help after alleging that his Thai wife had taken his belongings and left him to care for their five year old son alone. Local authorities later assisted him in contacting the Russian Embassy.
In another case reported in March last year, a Taiwanese man travelled to Thailand to pursue legal action against a Thai woman he accused of defrauding him of nearly 10 million baht. The woman admitted wrongdoing in media interviews and said she was no longer in Thailand.
The story Chiang Mai locals say Swede suffers mental health after losses to Thai girlfriend as seen on Thaiger News.
