16-Year-Old British Boy Found Dead in Thai Forest

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From Pattaya News

Lampang — A British teenager has been found dead with head wounds in a forest in Lampang province, northern Thailand. His girlfriend who went for a motorbike ride with him also went missing.

The deceased teenager, Ben, 16, was found in a grove in the Ban Than district with injuries resembling blunt force, local police reported on Sunday morning, May 7th.

The victim of British nationality, who has a Thai mother and was largely raised in Thailand, went for a motorbike ride with his Thai girlfriend Yam, also 16, in his hometown of Lampang on Saturday but did not return home.

His body was found by a garbage collector who was at work on Sunday morning.

Police Colonel Sittisak Singtongla, superintendent of the Mae Tha Police, told the Thai media: ‘The station received a notification at 10.15am that a deceased person was found in the undergrowth.’

Upon inspection of Ben’s body, the authorities found that his phone and cash were not with him. He was found with his back against a tree wearing a black long sleeve T-shirt and jeans.

Police said that the body has been taken to hospital for an autopsy.

The victim’s girlfriend also went missing, and police are searching for her.

‘We are currently tracking down individuals close to the victim, including his female companion. She is a key figure in this case since she is the last person to see him alive,’ Col Sittisak said.

Ben’s mother, Ooy Taota, told police that her son had said goodbye to her on Saturday evening and said he was ‘going to work with friends’ but he did not give any more details to her.

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Suspected murderer of Thai-British teen attacked during re-enactment

A relative of the 17 year old Thai-British teenager Woramet “Ben” Taota – who was murdered in Lampang in northern Thailand on Saturday – attacked the suspected murderer with a wooden stick during a re-enactment of the crime this morning.

At 11am, officers from Mae Tha Police Station and Lampang Provincial Police escorted the accused, 44 year old Chaiwat Boonkarin, to the crime scene along the Mae Tan – Sop Prap Road in Moo 9 of San Don Kaeo subdistrict to walk through what happened on Saturday.

Ben’s British father Steven Graham arrived in Lampang this morning. As police officers escorted Chainat out of the station this morning, Ben’s parents were waiting outside. Through the police car window, Ben’s mother Ooy cried out, “Why did you kill my child?”

In response, Chainat raised his hands in apology. Ooy continued, “Why are you apologising to me? Why did you kill my child? Where is Pong?”

Ben’s 16 year old girlfriend Ping Pong is still missing. Chainat still has not revealed information about Pong’s whereabouts to the police, four days after Ben’s murder.

Upon arrival at the crime scene, locals crowded around handcuffed Chainat, who was wearing sunglasses and a bulletproof vest.

Police tried to control the locals crowding around the accused but one man, a relative of Ben’s, managed to launch forward and smash a wooden stick off Chaiwat’s head. The stick broke in two.

Chaiwat was released from prison for sex crimes less than eight months ago.

On Saturday, 17 year old Woramet “Ben” Taota went for a motorbike ride with a 16 year old Thai girl named Surapitchaya, or “Ping Pong,” in his hometown of Lampang at around 4pm.

Police took Chainat to the coordinates where Ping Pong’s phone signal was last tracked to try and get him to speak.

Then, officers brought sniffer dogs to smell Ping Pong’s clothes and shoes before taking the dogs to search the area for clues.

In Thailand, the ‘re-enactment’ of a crime is a common feature of criminal investigations, especially if a suspect has already pleaded guilty to the crime. The police, suspect and members of the public will gather at the crime scene and the suspect will walk through what happened and where.

Re-enactments, while controversial, are designed to provide more clarity into the details of a crime, show off the police’s investigative skills and publicly embarrass the criminal.

 

[khaolakguy]

These Thai re-enactments are really weird and always have been. Since they are covered widely in the local press, finding an independent witness who has no bias for or against any individual must be tricky!

[reader]

From Thai PBS World

Body of a missing teenage girl found in bushes in Lampang province

Police in Thailand’s Lampang province have found the body of a 16-year-old girl who went missing on May 7^th, when her Thai-English boyfriend was killed.

Police and about 100 villagers searched a forest bordering Kho Kha and Sop Prap districts after the police received a tipoff from an individual who claimed to have seen the girl, known as “Pingpong”, being led into the forest by a man.

At about 11am, the search team found traces of two holes in the ground, about 50 metres apart in the bushes. In one of them they found the body of a dead girl.

The remains were removed from the shallow grave while the search team waited for the arrival of forensics officers.

Police have already arrested a 44-year-old man, who is suspected of having killed a 17-year-old Thai-English boy.