Thai man arrested after faking story about pregnant wife buried in quake rubble
A man in
Thailand has been arrested for falsely claiming he had a pregnant wife who was buried under the rubble of a building in Bangkok that collapsed during Friday's
earthquake , Thai media reported.
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Somnit Duangnet admitted to fabricating the story about his wife – who he claimed was four months pregnant – being trapped beneath the rubble of the under-construction State Audit Office building after police arrested him on Monday.
Although he insisted he had no intention of deceiving the public, the police said they would take a hard line against him to deter others from exploiting the disaster.
Somnit, who is in his early 50s, is believed to have received at least 10,000 baht (US$293) in donations, according to local broadcaster Thai PBS.
In a trembling voice, he told reporters on Friday that his pregnant wife was buried under the building while holding up an employee card that belonged to a young woman.
Rescue work going on at the site of the collapsed State Audit Office building in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday following Friday's earthquake. Photo: Reuters
He said that his wife had contacted him to tell him the building was shaking and that he had lost contact with her after that, according to The Nation newspaper.
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