Things get a bit smelly on social media

IT’S probably a good thing that odours can’t be spread through the Internet, otherwise the Thai social-media community would have been reeling under the stink of excrement as they checked out the post about faeces being left on an MRT train. 

Facebook user Kyra Mii recounted seeing a woman drop poo as she got off the train on Tuesday. A foreigner’s immediate comment was, “Oh ... shit, be careful,” as another passenger accidentally stepped on the load. 

The post spread quickly online and won all sorts of reactions, with many refusing to believe the pictures and questioning if it was even true. 

Aunna Duangngam wrote: “Actually the BTS and MRT should provide toilets at all stations like in other countries. We never know in advance when we want to go to the loo.” 

Duen Srivaurai said: “How could [the excrement] go through the underwear? Or could the G-string not hold it?”

However, some kind people empathised with the woman, saying maybe it was far too difficult to hold in, The media later came up with information on where people can find toilets when commuting on public transport.

Bangkok Metro’s public relations staff advised passengers to ask MRT station staff if they were desperate for the toilet, and said public toilets were available at all stations that have an MRT Metro Mall. 

Social-media timelines also got heated on Thursday in response to the Samui Provincial Court’s sentencing of two Myanmar men to death for murdering two British backpackers on Koh Tao last year. This verdict was met with surprise and sadness, and hashtag #KohTao rose to the top very quickly on Twitter. 

After learning that people in Yangon, mobilised via social media, were planning to rally outside the Thai Embassy, the mission issued a statement warning Thais in Myanmar to keep a low profile and be more careful while travelling. 

Natty Tangmeesang, a former Nation TV reporter who now lives and works in Myanmar, reminded her friends on Facebook that this verdict was not final, and that the defendants can appeal. She said: “We, Thais, cannot bar you from expressing your hatred towards our government or our system, but please do not take it out on Thai people. Last but not least, I hope to see justice and transparency being brought about as well.” 

Aung Thu Ra, a Myanmar national, shared DVB TV News’ post of graffiti showing the two defendants “wai-ing” in a call for justice. 

However, Wanchai Roujanavong, former director-general of the International Affairs Department of the Office of the Attorney-General, wrote on Facebook that the evidence was very clear, especially the suspects’ DNA that matched the semen found in the body of the female victim and the cigarette butt found at the scene. The defendants’ request for the DNA on the murder weapon, a hoe, had to be rejected because there was too little DNA evidence on it to examine. 

“Things got dramatic when people began paying heed to false or incomplete information via social media, which made them believe that the DNA did not match,” he wrote.

Memes explaining simple things, like what bogies are, how chubby ladies feel and why the disabled in Thailand deserve more opportunities in Thailand, have been doing the rounds in Thai social media for a while now. 

Maybe somebody should create a similar meme explaining the Koh Tao case and ensuring that the information shared is precise and true.