The body of a 31-year-old Thai model, Kaikan Kaennakam, has been discovered in a Bahrain morgue over a year after her disappearance. Kaikan had worked as a model in Thailand before moving to Bahrain to work in a restaurant, regularly updating her family through social media. However, she abruptly stopped posting online in April 2023, leaving her family concerned. Despite efforts from the Thai embassy and the Thai community in Bahrain, her whereabouts remained unknown until the embassy informed her family on April 18th that an unidentified Southeast Asian female’s body had been in the morgue since last year. A tattoo on the woman’s leg identified her as Kaikan. The cause of death was stated as ‘acute lung and heart failure due to alcohol poisoning’, but the family believes the circumstances surrounding her death are suspicious, citing bruises on her body in photos provided by the embassy. They are seeking an investigation into the incident and assistance in repatriating her body, a costly process without travel insurance. Paveena Hongsakul, founder of a women and children’s charity in Thailand, has also offered support in the case, urging Thai women to exercise caution when considering working abroad.
