The three workers took a break from weeding the orchard in tambon Mab Pai of Khlung district and went for a dip in a large pond to cool off.
They agreed it would be fun to paddle a boat, just like the scene they had seen in the movie, according to Pol Lt Piyachart Krunant, of Khlung police station.
Unluckily for them, the fibreglass boat they used had a leak. It filled with water and overturned.
Pol Lt Piyachart said 17-year-old Anond Thongchai could not swim. He floundered and drowned before his friends could rescue him.
The police and a rescue team later recovered his body, but only with difficulty. The pond is about six metres deep and Anond was at the bottom, about 30 metres out from the bank.
Once he was taken from the water, his grieving mother and cousin threw themselves on top of the body, crying.
The comedy ghost film, Pee Mak Phra Khanong has become the highest-grossing movie ever released in Thailand, with receipts from cinemas in Greater Bangkok of around 531 million baht after five weeks.
Lead character Pee Mak lives in a house on the bank of a river. When his four friends realise that his wife Nak is a ghost they flee in a rowing boat. The comedy scene shows the four paddling in a totally uncoordinated manner, going in circles and not getting anywhere at all.
In the story, Pee Mak goes off to battle. Pregnant Nak dies in labour while he is away. Filled with love, she stays at home, with the baby, waiting for Pee Mak to come back. When he returns, she pretends to still be alive. Later Pee Mak's friends find out that she is a ghost.
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