If your mailbox has been a little empty lately, if that lovingly crafted letter you sent three months ago has still received no reply, and if you live in Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan province — we think we know what happened.
It might be the fact that a newly hired mailman in the province simply decided he no longer wanted to deliver mail and has instead been hoarding thousands of unopened letters in his house.
The drama first came to light when Facebook user “Santad Tad Dechgeud” posted about this experience in “I Love Bangsaphan,” a public group with more than 80,000 members in the western province’s Bang Saphan district.
“I’ve been waiting for important documents for many months now including bank statements, tax documents and cash checks. I had to travel so far to track down where my letters are… I’ve made many complaints to the mail agency, which goes unanswered,” he wrote.
Satad told Coconuts Bangkok this morning that a friend of his got the delivery man’s home address from the company contracted to deliver mail in the district.
After knocking on the door and being allowed in, Bangsaphan’s friend made a shocking discovery: thousands of unopened letters just sitting there.
Hundreds of other members on the Facebook page have since shared their own horror stories due to undelivered mail.
One said they were almost arrested for not showing up to court as their subpoenas were never delivered.
Thiraphong Thepmanee, head of the Prachuap Khiri Khan post office, told Khaosod that the mailman in question is a contractor who reportedly just started working seven months ago. Employees reportedly get evaluated every 6 months and this mailman, surprise surprise, did not pass.
Thiraphong, who also cited the man’s unspecified “personal problems,” told the outlet he suspects the mailman simply decided to stop delivering mail when he realized that he was not going to pass the evaluation.
Meanwhile, the Bangsaphan Noi Post Office claims that it is now in the gradual process of delivering all that unreceived mail.
They added that they will also hire a new postman, which seems like a very good idea. It was not immediately clear if criminal charges will be pursued.
