Man Finds Street Food Wrapped In Sensitive Medical Records, Hospital Fined

NDTV

4 days ago

A private hospital in Thailand improperly disposed of over 1,000 pages of confidential patient records, which were later used as wrappers for street food in Ubon Ratchathani province in the northeastern part of the country.
Thailand's Personal Data Protection Committee took action, and the hospital was fined 1.21 million baht, equivalent to approximately US$37,000, for violating the country's data privacy laws. The committee also emphasised the need for strict data privacy measures.
The incident went viral after a social media influencer, whose name is translated as Doctor Lab Panda, posted the medical documents being used as a wrapper for crispy crepe, known locally as khanom Tokyo. The records included personal identifiers and diagnosis details, compromising patient confidentiality.
As per the influencer, the patient details were visible on the wrapper, as one document showed clearly that it was that of a man infected with the hepatitis B virus.
"Should I continue eating it, or is this enough?" the influencer asked as quoted by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Private hospital in Bangkok fined THB 1.2 million by the PDPA!
Medical records of patients were leaked and reused as wrapping for Tokyo street pancakes. #Thailand #PDPA #DataProtection #Privacy https://t.co/coyFvGVaXr pic.twitter.com/8A1lS5lpet
— YOZZO (@Yozzo) August 2, 2025
According to a report by the Bangkok Post, the hospital stated that it had outsourced document disposal to a small business. However, they didn't follow up.
The report further stated that the business owner admitted to the fault, explaining that the documents were leaked after being stored at their home.
The SCMP report stated that social media users slammed the hospital. As quoted, one user said, "More importance should be given to the personal rights of patients. The hospital should be sued and its licence revoked."
"Buyers should boycott shops that use recycled bags like this. Vendors want to cut costs even though they know it is not safe. The medical documents should be shredded instead of being sold," said another