Police arrest parents in connection with dead child
Police yesterday arrested a mother and her husband in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found in a canal in Samut Prakan’s Bang Sao Thong district on Sunday.
The arrests of Supaporn Nontra and her husband Wajaran Tatsawan were made shortly after police investigators led by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) identified the girl as Pornthip Kulnanant.
The girl’s body was found late on Sunday afternoon in a canal in tambon Sisajorakhe by local residents.
Wrapped in a blanket, the body had been put in a large sack filled with 6kg of cement to ensure it sank. The bag was covered in water hyacinths.
The body was found with bruises and fresh cuts which appeared to have been caused by a propeller.
After the body was recovered, local police and CSD took pictures of the clothes the victim was wearing and went around the local area questioning residents. One resident claimed to recall the girl.
According to police, the girl was the daughter of Ms Supaporn from her ex-husband. Ms Supaporn and Mr Wajaran, who was the stepfather of Pornthip, have a three-year-old child.
According to the police investigation, Mr Wajaran was upset when the girl moved in with them and allegedly assaulted her, locked her up in a room and left her to starve.
Early in the day, police searched a shoemaking factory and a worker dormitory in tambon Bang Sao Thong and interviewed more than 20 migrant workers over the girl’s death.
The premises were close to the scene where the girl’s body was found and police found similar bags on the premises.
Meanwhile, the Mirror Foundation yesterday issued a statement asking the Royal Thai Police to upgrade its management of a centre dealing with missing people and unidentified bodies after the girl’s body was found.
In a statement, the foundation said the case stressed the need for the police force to improve its handling of such cases and build and maintain an online database.
“The Royal Thai Police should elevate its centre on management of missing people and unidentified bodies to a command centre. It should have permanent staff compiling information about missing people and analysing information.
“It should coordinate with other agencies, so it can operate nationwide.”
It said police officers should receive training to have appropriate attitudes towards these kinds of cases especially those involving runaway children who are usually the victims of physical abuse.
According to the foundation, runaway children often fall victim to crime or abuse if they do not receive assistance as soon as possible. It also suggested that the Royal Thai Police should inform police stations nationwide.