Thailand orders checks on four bodies at Chachoengsao Jewish cemetery

Thai authorities have ordered identity and cause-of-death checks for four bodies found at a Jewish cemetery in Chachoengsao before the remains can be moved, Deputy Interior Minister Polapee said on Friday, 11 September 2026.

Polapee inspected Jewish Cemetery Thailand in Samed Tai subdistrict, Bang Khla district, with officials from the Department of Special Investigation and local administrative authorities. He said the site had no valid cemetery or crematorium operating licence and that local authorities had not been notified of the deaths.

Three graves had been sealed with concrete and marked with marble nameplates showing years of death of 2023, 2025 and 2026, according to Polapee. A fourth body was under a tent and had not been sealed. Polapee said he believed it had been brought to the site this year.

He ordered officials to establish the identities of the deceased and whether they were foreign nationals, as claimed, before any transfer. Public health and administrative officials were also instructed to determine whether the deaths resulted from natural causes, accidents or violence.

The company sought to move the bodies to a cemetery in the Charoen Krung area of Bangkok. Polapee said it would first have to provide documents from relevant authorities confirming the identities and causes of death.

Polapee also alleged links between the company’s shareholders and businesses in Patong, Phuket, as well as a business network in Chonburi. He said the land transaction was handled by Gan Chabad Co Ltd and covered about 15 rai, valued at roughly B20 million.

According to Polapee, three shareholders were Israeli nationals who had acquired Thai citizenship and were legally entitled to purchase land. He said authorities were investigating the wider network, including alleged nominee arrangements involving land, hotels, property and businesses.

The cemetery’s licence was granted in 2021 but was not renewed in 2023, Polapee said. Provincial authorities are expected to submit a factual report to the Administrative Court in a pending case concerning the site.

Polapee said no predicate offence for money laundering had yet been identified at the cemetery. He warned that assets could be frozen and Thai citizenship revoked if wrongdoing were established.