An official culture ministry website returned to the web Monday afternoon after vanishing for some hours after it was criticized for describing suicide by hanging among the benefits of a traditional garment.
Ilovethaiculture.com had earlier vanished several hours after the nation’s top custodian of culture, Ittipol Khunpluem, said he ordered the offending description removed from the site after it was called out as “inappropriate.”
Ittipol said it was an error that the official website listed “hang by the neck (when you run out of options)” as the 28th benefit to one-piece waistcloths known as pha kao ma following more benign applications such as tablecloths, headbands and sun shades.
Pha kao ma are colorful checkered fabrics widely worn by men around their waists or neck. While they have certainly been used in suicides, the offending 2015 entry (now…
