Stress from unemployment and lack of money to care for her new child drove a woman to bury her 24-day-old baby boy alive in Phitsanulok on Tuesday, police said.
Natthaphat Khonsakrom, 30, of Nakhon Thai district, was found sitting vacantly on the Kwai Noi River bank on Tuesday, said police.
They had been called to scene by reports that the woman had taken her new baby there. Relatives and neighbours of the woman also rushed to help find the child.
The infant was found buried alive under the sand and rushed to a nearby hospital, but declared dead shortly after. There were no signs of violence on his body. A hospital doctor said suffocation was the most likely cause of death.
The woman told police she was stressed out because she and her husband had both lost their jobs. She had no money to care for the baby and this drove her to bury him under the sand, she told police.
The woman was held in police custody for legal action.
Her husband, Jittipan Saengsuk, 28, earlier told police that his wife had been missing since Monday. She had taken her baby, born 24 days ago, with her. He said his wife was stressed and he feared his wife might take her own life or endanger their new son.