Ratchaburi: A biological mother and her new husband were arrested for assaulting their 1-year-old child, resulting in the child's death. They claimed the child constantly cried and fussed, annoying them. Unable to tolerate the abuse any longer, villagers lynched the mother and her husband.
According to Thai News Agency, villagers waited to see the suspect, Ms. Saowaros, or Jeab, 30 years old, before storming in and violently assaulting her, slapping her face and cursing at her. This was after they learned that Ms. Jeab, along with her new husband, Mr. Surasak, 38 years old, had assaulted and killed her 1-year-and-6-month-old daughter, Nong Kluaykhai.
This incident stems from the fact that police at Khao Din Police Station detained both individuals for prosecution after the autopsy of Nong Kluai Khai revealed that she died from blunt force trauma to the meninges. There were also bruises and burn marks on her back and buttocks, indicating an unnatural death. Furthermore, on the day Nong Kluai Khai died, her biological mother refused to collect the body for religious ceremonies; only the child's grandmother retrieved the body for funeral rites. This led police to focus on the biological mother and stepfather, suspecting they may have been responsible for the child's death, and they were subsequently brought in for questioning.
The child's mother claimed ignorance during questioning but admitted to having physically abused her child for being fussy.
The child's mother claimed she had previously shocked her son with a fish shocker because he was fussy, but said it wasn't severe because the battery was very weak. She also claimed her husband frequently physically abused their child, which she would often intervene to stop. On April 6th, the day of the incident, the child had a seizure for unknown reasons, so she called a neighbor to help call authorities to take the child to the hospital. The child died on April 7th. She claimed she was unaware of this until the child's grandfather informed her, at which point she was shocked and subsequently apprehended by the police. Ms. Jeab gave inconsistent statements and admitted to drug use. The child's stepfather was questioned separately by the investigating officers.
Ms. Sakorn, a volunteer from the Sawang Ratchaburi Rescue Unit, recounted that she was the one who bathed and dressed the body of Nong Kluai Khai. She found bruises on the child's body and burn marks on her buttocks. The child's mother and stepfather did not even come to see the body.
However, after intense questioning by officials, Mr. Surasak, the stepfather, finally confessed that before the incident, the child was crying and fussing, which angered him. He slapped the child once and punched him in the forehead until he was unconscious. He then used a shocker to revive the child. The child's mother was watching and did not intervene. He admitted to abusing his stepchild continuously for over two months, including burning him with cigarettes, using a shocker, and sometimes slapping his face. He claimed the child's constant crying and fussing annoyed him.
Initially, the officers charged them with intentional homicide and drug use before handing them over to investigators at Khao Din Police Station for legal proceedings.