Thailand’s ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej — the world’s longest-reigning monarch — recently suffered a health problem that caused him to temporarily lose consciousness, his daughter revealed, linking the incident to stress over the country’s current flood crisis.
News that the health of 83-year-old king took what Princess Chulabhorn described as a brief turn for the worse came as Thailand reels from flooding that has inundated rural areas and parts of Bangkok and its suburbs. More than 500 people have died, damage is estimated at several billion US dollars and central Bangkok remains under threat.
Chulabhorn, the king’s youngest daughter, said on Friday during a visit to flood victims in Nonthaburi Province north of Bangkok that King Bhumibol had gone into shock and lost consciousness after suffering abdominal bleeding and a sharp drop in his blood pressure. She said that about 800cc of blood had been found in his bowel movements.
Photo: EPA
Chulabhorn said the king returned to normal health after being treated at the hospital where he has been staying for more than two years, according to the official royal news broadcast on Friday night. The king, who was coronated in 1950, was originally hospitalized on Sept. 19, 2009, with a lung inflammation. Official statements said he remained at the hospital for physical therapy and nourishment to recover his strength.
In May this year, he had an operation to relieve a condition that made him unsteady on his feet. A statement issued at the time said the spinal tap procedure was to relieve a condition — an excessive level of cerebrospinal fluid resulting in pressure on the brain — that is common in the elderly.
Chulabhorn said on Friday that after the May operation, the king “seemed to be at ease” until the flood crisis. The king has been shown from time to time on television speaking — sometimes with difficulty — at royal functions held at the hospital.
Chulabhorn said doctors told her the recent bleeding could have been caused by concern over the flooding.
“I asked the nurse what he had been doing in the past few days,” Chulabhorn said. “It turned out that he had been watching news about the flood. This indicates that His Majesty the King loves his people as his own children. He is very concerned and he usually doesn’t speak much, but [his concern] is seen in his physical condition.”
She did not specify when the health crisis took place, but her comments indicated it was more than a week ago. She had previously spoken about it on Monday, though not in such detail, and said on Friday that it happened the same day she had been visiting flooding victims in Ayutthaya Province, also near Bangkok. She visited a Buddhist temple there on Nov. 4.
The Royal Household Bureau, which is in charge of releasing news about the king, said yesterday that it could provide no further details on the king’s health.
Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, where the king is staying, said it could provide no information without the approval of the Royal Household Bureau, which had not yet been given.
It is potentially unlawful for private citizens to comment publicly on the king’s health. In 2009, four people were arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to spread rumors about the king’s health. Under the Computer Crime Act, spreading false information deemed harmful to national security is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of 100,000 baht (US$2,770).
Open discussion of the monarchy is also constrained by strict lese majeste laws that make criticism of the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The king traditionally has played a conciliating role in Thai society and his decline in health has coincided with trouble in the Southeast Asian nation. Thailand has been beset by woes since a 2006 military coup ushered in a period of political instability, marked by sometimes violent street protests.
His near-disappearance from the public scene has also raised concerns about what will happen after his passing. His son and heir-apparent, Thai Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, does not command the same respect and affection as the king.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was