Police in Chiang Mai have arrested a 30 year old man who allegedly picked up a 5 year old boy at his school and then killed him. According to a report from Khaosod English, Jai Kongkum, of Shan ethnicity, was angry with the boy’s parents, who he says prevented him from having a relationship with the sister of the boy’s mother.
According to Tawatchai Pongwiwattanachai, commander of Chiang Mai provincial police, Jai has confessed to kidnapping the child from his school in the Mueang district of the city and then strangling him. He has also admitted to disposing of the boy’s body in a swamp in the Hang Dong district.
PHOTO: Daily News
Jai has been charged with abducting a child under the age of 15 and permissive homicide.
Meanwhile, the boy’s father, named as Jaiaow Nhaiyu, says his son would have turned 6 on August 29. He describes the boy as bright and intelligent, adding that as a Shan child, his son was learning Thai and making good daily progress. He says his other son, who is 3, now cries when his parents cry.
Jaiaow says the family not only wants Jai prosecuted, they want him to apologise. He adds that the family did not know Jai as well as the suspect claims, saying Jai was with his wife’s sister for a few months before the couple separated.
Meanwhile, there has been no statement from the child’s school at the time of writing.
Khaosod English reports that a 2017 UNICEF survey showed that a third of Thai children under the age of 14 had been physically or emotionally abused by family members.
The data shows that on average, 2 children an hour are physically, emotionally, or sexually abused, exploited, or abandoned in Thailand. There has been no official confirmation from the government of how many children are murdered.
SOURCE: Khaosod English
