On November 23, 2025, an anonymous 65-year-old Thai woman was found alive in her coffin at a Buddhist Temple a short time before organ donation and cremation, an unfeasible notion considering a death certificate did not exist. Improper legal process was the main cause of the unfortunate event, and if it weren’t for the elderly woman knocking around in the coffin at the time that she did, an gruesome and horrific outcome would’ve been unpreventable.
Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page showing the woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck. She was slightly moving her arms and head, shuffling her limbs with very clear signs of life.
According to CBS News, Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, stated that on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated. When Pairat heard a faint knock coming from the coffin, he stated. “I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled. I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.”
The brother claimed that his sister apparently stopped breathing two days ago. This was after she had been bedridden for about two years and her health suddenly deteriorated and she became unresponsive. He then placed her in a coffin and drove 500km to a hospital in Bangkok, where the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs. As there was no official death certificate, the hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer. Since the temple offered a free cremation service, the brother approached them on Sunday. The woman was swiftly rushed to the nearest hospital, with the temple being clear they would cover all expenses.
