Pungent protest: Thai man douses portrait of Cambodia’s Hun Sen with fish sauce

Thewa Sritawan, 69, was angry about Cambodia’s actions during a border clash with Thailand and walked 30km to Bangkok to stage his protest

A man who embarked on a 30km (19-mile) protest walk barefoot and splashed fish sauce on a portrait of Cambodia’s Senate leader and former prime minister Hun Sen outside the country’s embassy in Bangkok was briefly detained but later released by Thai police.

Angered by Cambodia’s actions during a recent border clash with Thailand, 69-year-old retired tennis coach Thewa Sritawan walked for almost five hours from his home in Pak Kret, in neighbouring Nonthaburi province, at dawn on Monday to carry out his protest. He carried only a bag containing the portrait and a bottle of the fermented sauce.

“I left at 6am. I was determined to protest Hun Sen’s aggression over our disputed borders,” Thewa told police, as reported by the Taiger news website.

Thewa also hopped on a motor taxi towards the end of his journey and arrived at the Cambodian embassy on Pracha Uthit Road at about 11am. Once there, he laid the portrait on the pavement and doused it with the sauce.

Nam plaa raa, or Thai fermented fish sauce, is an essential seasoning in Thai cooking made by fermenting freshwater fish in salt and rice bran or flour for at least six months to bring about its distinctive taste and smell.

It was that smell which alerted the embassy’s security guards to Thewa’s actions and they quickly intervened to stop him and called the police, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper.

Witnesses described the scene as comical and surreal. “At first, I thought he was feeding stray dogs,” one of them said. “Then I smelled the sauce and realised something strange was happening.”

During questioning, Thewa said he did it because he was “angry that Cambodian troops patrol land that belongs to Thailand”. He told police he had previously walked 10 days to the disputed border area to show solidarity with the Thai soldiers there.

The Cambodian embassy declined to press charges against Thewa, so Thai police fined him 100 baht (US$3) – as it was all he could afford – for littering and sent him on his way.

Thewa remained defiant after his run-in with the police and said: “I will keep protesting against Cambodia’s aggressive policies. And if any Thai government agency is corrupt, I’ll be back with more fermented fish sauce.”

In July 2023, he staged a similar protest at the Election Commission office on Chaeng Watthana Road to express his dissatisfaction with its performance.

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Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been tense after a border dispute that led to a bloody clash in May. One Cambodian soldier was killed as troops from both sides exchanged fire in a disputed area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet.