PATTAYA, Thailand — A well-known rescue volunteer who went live on social media while answering a call to help an elderly homeless woman arrived to find she had already died, leaving viewers and the volunteer himself shaken.
At about 2:50 p.m. on September 4th, 2026, Kanthat Phongphaibulwet, known as Gun Jomphalang of the Gun Jomphalang Help Fight Foundation, arrived in front of a condominium on Soi Phra Tamnak 6. Residents had asked for help after an elderly woman living on the street refused repeated attempts to move her to shelter and get medical assistance.
Gun found a woman believed to be about 60 years old lying still beside a condominium signpost. A black plastic sheet had been used to make a crude shelter. Gun called out to her for some time. She did not respond. A pulse check confirmed she was dead.
Because the visit was livestreamed, people watching the broadcast saw the discovery in real time and reacted with shock and grief. Gun later lit incense and asked forgiveness of the deceased, praying that her spirit would find peace.
He contacted Police Col. Anek Sathongyu, superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station, who sent officers to the scene. An initial examination found no signs of assault. Officers said she appeared to have been dead for at least six hours and that rigor mortis had begun. The body was turned over to the Sawang Boriboon Foundation in Pattaya for a full autopsy at Pattaya Patamakun Hospital.
Lalisa Zucker, 39, the condominium manager, said the woman had been staying in the area since August 28. At first she slept by the road. Staff notified police, rescue workers and municipal officers, but the woman refused treatment and would not leave. Condo employees later built a temporary shelter for her. Staff said they last saw her alive the night before Gun arrived.
Suphakchaya Nantaphap, 50, who contacted the foundation, said she and other workers had brought food and water and kept asking officials for help. The woman still refused to go with officers or see a doctor. In recent days she could not walk and moved by crawling. Neighbors finally called Gun’s foundation. Help arrived unfortunately after she had already died.
Gun said early reports indicated the woman could still walk at first and later lost that ability. He had been told she was still breathing the previous night. He said he had come to Pattaya to rest with his family and stopped to check on her while waiting for his wife and child. After calling to her several times with no response, his team checked her pulse and found she was gone.
He said several agencies had tried to help, but the woman refused assistance and would not give officers her personal information. He had intended to carry her to a vehicle and take her for treatment. When he arrived she was lying still under a cloth. He first thought she might be covering herself because of the heat. When the cloth was lifted and her pulse was checked, it was clear she had died.
Gun asked the public not to attack officials over the case. He said officers had tried to intervene, but the woman would not go with them even while living exposed to sun and rain. He said she appeared to have died peacefully and was no longer suffering on the street.
