Pol Sub-Lt Vichai Sureeyut
Pol Sub-Lt Vichai Sureeyut, a former police officer who was affectionately called a “crazy man who loves planting trees” and was responsible for planting more than three million trees since 1988 in his home district of Prang Gu, in the north-eastern province of Si Sa Ket, died last Saturday night at the age of 77.
Vichai began his police career in 1968 in Mueang district of Si Sa Ket, after his graduation from a police academy in Nakhon Ratchasima. Two years later, he was transferred to Prang Ku district, until his retirement in 2006 at the rank of sub-lieutenant.
According to 1997 data from the Ministry of Interior, Si Sa Ket was the poorest province in Thailand and Prang Ku district was the poorest district in Si Sa Ket. It was also the most arid.
In 1997, Vichai started his solo mission to plant trees in earnest. Every morning, before reporting…
