Thai model’s body found at a morgue in Bahrain; family demands explanations

More than a year after going missing, the corpse of 31-year-old Thai model Kaikan Kaennakam was found at a morgue in Bahrain. Her family is requesting that the circumstances surrounding her death be looked at thoroughly. Kaikan had seen a drop in career chances and had moved from modeling to working at a Middle Eastern restaurant. She tried to provide for her family in northeastern Thailand. She often updated her loved ones on social media, sharing that she had moved in with her Bahraini lover and started a relationship.

Kaikan unexpectedly stopped using the internet in April 2023, which worried her family members since they couldn’t get in touch with her via phone. Kaikan could not be found, even after they searched for her, contacting the Thai embassy in January of the next year and getting help from the Thai community in Bahrain.

Sadly, Kaikan’s family received the heartbreaking news on April 18 from the Thai embassy in Bahrain: an unidentified Southeast Asian woman’s corpse had been found at the Salmaniya hospital complex morgue since the previous year. An important piece of information that helped identify the lady as the missing Thai worker was a tattoo on her leg. Alcohol poisoning-related acute lung and heart failure was listed as the official cause of death.

Kaikan’s sister Suthida Ngernthaworn has doubts about the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death. She claims that pictures of Kaikan’s physique show signs of bruises, which worries her. Suthida further discloses that, before to her abduction, Kaikan posted films and pictures to social media showing her body covered in wounds and marks, which heightened suspicions. The woman’s family is now occupied with attempting to return her mortal remains to Thailand, which can be a costly undertaking in the absence of travel insurance.

The family has approached Paveena Hongsakul, the creator of a Thai nonprofit that supports mothers and children, for assistance. In an attempt to get help in returning Kaikan’s corpse to Thailand, Paveena has taken action to approach the director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs and the head of the Protection of Thai Nationals Abroad Division.