tokiwo (地球のB面の投稿者)

Over ฿400,000 in Valuables Allegedly Stolen on Day One — How Did a Bangkok New Hire Reach His Employer’s Private Room?

2026-10-12 by tokiwo

初出勤日に40万バーツ超が消えた――バンコクの新人は、どうやって経営者の私室へ？

“Welcome aboard.” A new employee heard some version of that on his first day in a Bangkok office. By that same afternoon, he was gone—and more than ฿400,000 worth of his employer’s valuables were allegedly gone with him.

On October 5, 2026, a 37-year-old Thai man allegedly stole valuables from his female employer’s private room at an office on Yaowarat Road, Bangkok’s historic Chinatown district. The employer reported the case to Chakkrawat Police Station the following day.

The strange part is not simply that an employee allegedly stole from an employer. It is that this was his first day.

Thailand

When a Dream Became an “Eviction Order”: Seven Families Targeted in Thailand Over Black-Magic Claims

2026-10-11 by tokiwo

What happens when someone says they saw you in a dream—and that dream becomes evidence that your family put a curse on them?

Some people would dismiss it immediately. Others might wonder whether the dream meant something. Belief in ghosts, omens and curses is deeply personal, and this story is not about mocking people for believing in things that cannot be seen.

But in October 2026, in Sop Moei district of Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand, a dream reportedly moved beyond private belief and became the starting point for an attempt to push a family out of its village.

The pressure eventually expanded to seven households. More than 30 relatives were reportedly included in demands that the wider family leave, while more than 40 family members and relatives were said to have been affected by the dispute.

AI-generated explanatory illustration. It does not depict the actual people, location, ethnic group or events involved in the case.

Thailand

Why Was the Hair Dry? The Penang Char Kway Teow Complaint That Led to a CCTV Check

2026-10-10 by tokiwo

「毛が入っているから払わない」――だが、その毛は乾いていた。ペナン“胸毛チャークイティオ”疑惑

A customer complains that there is hair in his food and refuses to pay. On its own, that sounds like an unpleasant but fairly ordinary restaurant dispute.

What happened at a restaurant along Persiaran Gurney in George Town, Penang, on October 4, 2026, was stranger. Local reports place the incident in the 5 p.m. hour. A man described in local media as a foreign national complained that he had found hair in his char kway teow and left with a woman accompanying him without paying a bill of about RM30.

But the detail that bothered the restaurant manager was not simply that there was hair in the food. The hairs appeared to be dry.

Malaysia

More Than 20 Otters Appeared in a Thai Canal. Why Were There Two Groups?

2026-10-10 by tokiwo

タイの運河にカワウソ20匹超、なぜ突然？ 40年住む住民も初めて見た「2つの群れ」

Just north of Bangkok, in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, residents witnessed a wildlife scene that was unusual even by local standards.

At around 3 p.m. on October 5, 2026, more than 20 otters, both large and small, were spotted swimming and catching fish in the Bangkok Noi Canal near Bang Khu Wiang Canal in Bang Krang, Mueang Nonthaburi district.

One otter is cute. Three might look like a family outing. More than 20 is something else entirely. Residents who had lived along the canal for over 40 years said they had never seen so many there at once.

Thailand

Vietnam’s Nearly 800 Fake Gambling Videos Weren’t About Gambling — They Were Sales Pitches

2026-10-09 by tokiwo

ベトナムで800本の“ヤラセ賭博動画”――8人組が売っていたのはイカサマ道具だった

On September 28, 2026, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Hải Phòng City Police announced an unusual case: a group of eight people had allegedly built what looked less like a gambling operation and more like a small video-production business.

The group staged gambling scenes, assigned roles, wrote scripts and uploaded the resulting clips to Facebook. Police say they posted nearly 800 videos.

But the gambling itself was not really the product. Embedded in the videos were advertisements for devices promoted as tools for cheating at gambling.

The gambling was staged. The sales pitch was real.

Vietnam

A Coffin Fell Out of a Hearse in São Paulo — Who Is Allowed to Transport the Dead?

2026-10-08 by tokiwo

If this were a ghost story, a coffin falling out of a moving hearse would almost invite a supernatural explanation.

But what happened in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 23, 2026, appears to have been much more earthly. In São Miguel Paulista, on the city’s eastern side, a coffin carrying a deceased person fell from a hearse and ended up on the road.

That is strange enough on its own. Yet the more interesting part of the story appears behind the accident itself: in São Paulo, transporting the dead is not simply a matter for any funeral company with a suitable vehicle. It is part of a tightly regulated public-service system.

Brazil

The World’s Smallest Bear Is Walking Through a Malaysian Neighborhood—How Dangerous Are Sun Bears?

2026-10-07 by tokiwo

世界最小のクマが住宅街を歩く――マレーシアで20日間に5件、マレーグマはどこまで危険なのか

On September 28, 2026, a sun bear was spotted walking through a residential area in Kampung Ulu Kenderong, Gerik, in the northern Malaysian state of Perak. Video of the black bear wandering beside the road spread on TikTok, and the Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks, better known as PERHILITAN, confirmed the sighting.

It was not the first report. Sightings had already been reported at Taman Raflesia on September 9, Kampung Air Panas on September 12 and 16, followed by another report on September 18 and the Ulu Kenderong sighting on September 28. That makes at least five reports between September 9 and September 28. Authorities have not established that all five involved the same individual bear.

Malaysia

He Needed a Restroom—So He Drove Into a Closed Kroger. How a 4:28 A.M. Emergency Became a $50,000 Case

2026-10-06 by tokiwo

At 4:28 a.m. on September 27, 2026, a Chevrolet crashed through the entrance of a closed Kroger supermarket in Rosenberg, Texas, southwest of Houston.

This was not described by police as a case of confusing the accelerator with the brake. According to the Rosenberg Police Department, the 60-year-old driver intentionally accelerated into the store, damaging the pharmacy-side entrance.

Why?

Police said the driver needed to use the restroom and became upset when he found the doors locked.

United States

Traffic Ticket or Frog Jumps? Why “Ranas” Keep Appearing in Peruvian Traffic Stops

2026-10-05 by tokiwo

ペルー警官、交通違反者に「カエル跳び」――切符の代わりの“ranas”はなぜ起きる？

Get stopped for a traffic violation and the next step is usually predictable: a warning, a citation, or a fine.

But in Cusco, southern Peru, one driver ended up crouching in the street and repeatedly moving up and down while a police officer watched. This was not roadside fitness training. The officer was reported to have made the driver perform an exercise known locally as “ranas” instead of issuing a traffic citation.

In footage reported by Peruvian broadcaster ATV on October 1, 2026, the officer can be heard telling the driver, in substance, that the exercise had spared him from getting a ticket. When the driver questioned why he had nearly been cited, the officer continued telling him to exercise and “warm up” so he would not feel cold.

Peru

When Bangkok’s Roads Became Rivers, the Skywalk Became a Shelter

2026-10-04 by tokiwo

On September 27, 2026, parts of Bang Kapi in eastern Bangkok were still under deep floodwater. Around the Happy Land intersection, cars and buses sat stranded while roads that normally carried heavy city traffic had effectively become waterways.

But the stranger scene was above the street. Residents had carried bags of clothes, valuables and basic supplies onto an elevated pedestrian skywalk. Some were no longer simply passing through it. They were using it as a place to stay — and, for at least one family, a place to spend the night.

Thailand