The mystery of Chaichon Locharernkul
Now that Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is set to soon become King Rama X it is more important than ever to clear up the mystery of what happened to respected neurologist Chaichon Locharernkul, the consort of Princess Chulabhorn until his sudden disappearance in late 2010 or early 2011. Otherwise some people might get the crazy idea that Vajiralongkorn is responsible for Chaichon's murder.
Several credible sources allege that Chaichon fled Bangkok in fear of his life after behaviour that upset Chulabhorn and which led in turn to Vajiralongkorn vowing to kill him. He sought sanctuary at Wat Pa Baan Taad, the monastery of the revered Luangta Maha Bua, in Udon Thani province. A couple of photographs showing him collecting alms as a monk confirm he was there.
Sources also claim that Chaichon was captured at the monastery in late January 2011 by Vajiralongkorn's henchmen and has never been seen or heard from again. Moreover, Luangta Maha Bua died a few days later on January 30, 2011, and although he was 97 years old and very frail, some reliable sources say that his death was partly caused by injuries sustained trying to protect Chaichon.
Another very odd element of this mystery is that every time I have written about it previously, people have insisted to me that he is alive and well and living as a monk at Wat Pa Kaeng Mai in Amphoe Sangkhom, Nongkhai. They often tell me that their aunt/cousin/friend/etc just saw him there recently. And the website gongtham.net says Chaichon has been passing his Dhamma examinations at the monastery.
But nobody ever says they saw him there themselves, and when friends of mine have gone to the monastery to look for him, they have found no sign.
So is Chaichon alive or dead? If he is really at Wat Pa Kaeng Mai, we should speak to him to make sure that he is there of his own free will and not hiding from anyone. If we can show he is alive, then obviously people will stop accusing Vajiralongkorn of killing him.
If Chaichon is not at Wat Pa Kaeng Mai, and nobody can find him anywhere, this means we need to be very worried about his safety. He may even be dead — many very credible sources say he was murdered in January 2011 and his family have been intimidated to keep them quiet. If he cannot be found, surely the police should investigate this case, and Vajiralongkorn and Chulabhorn should be interviewed to see if they have any information on what happened to him.
It seems very strange that a respected medical professor in a relationship with one of Thailand's most senior royals could just vanish for more than five years without anybody saying anything. To avoid any unfair accusations tarnishing Vajiralongkorn as he prepares to become king, it is very important that we get to the bottom of this mystery.