The acting deputy national police chief has ordered another investigation into the death of a 13-year-old boy found drowned in a pond in Phitsanulok province in early April.
Pol Lt Gen Ruangsak Jarit-ake called for the case to be reopened in response to a request by the boy’s mother who believes her son’s death was murder and not an accident.
The acting deputy police chief said he reviewed the case file at Phitsanulok provincial police station yesterday before reaching his decision.
Supachai Thammanupat was found dead in a pond at a housing estate in tambon Wat Jan, in Muang district on April 3.
Police had concluded the case was an accident after an initial autopsy performed at a nearby hospital indicated Supachai had died from drowning.
His mother, Kalaya Ketnava, claimed her son’s friend told her during the funeral that Supachai was beaten with a piece of wood by a group of teenagers before being thrown into the pond. Ms Kalaya then called off the cremation set for April 7.
Another autopsy performed at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok revealed the boy was indeed beaten and that bruises were found on his body. Internal bleeding was also discovered. The pathologist said Supachai died from blood circulation failure. Ms Kalaya later filed complaints with the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, Provincial Police Region 6, 4th Infantry Division and the Royal Thai Police to re-investigate the case.
Pol Lt Gen Ruangsak and local police yesterday returned to search for clues at the pond. They also went to the nearby Buddhachinaraj Hospital to find out if Supachai’s body was still there following a rumour he had been cremated already. The body was still there.