Secret mountain burial, revenge cycle, pest from the past

Struggling couple come clean

Two young parents in Nakhon Sawan have been charged with neglect leading to their child's death after they buried the body of their two-month-old child on a mountain and tried to keep it a secret.

Niphon, or Beow (no surname given), 25, and his partner Warunee, or Fei (no surname given), 19, were nabbed after their friends alerted police to the fate of their son, Nong Bryan.

The parents revealed they had buried the child's body about two weeks ago on Kop mountain in Muang district. They made the confession under intense questioning from their concerned friends, who filmed the exchange and handed the clip to police.

The couple say Nong Bryan was sickly from birth and stopped breathing of his own accord.

They say they panicked and rather than report the death to the authorities, secretly buried the body in a small 50cm-deep hole they dug with a knife and a piece of wood.

While denying they abused the child, they admit they were not capable of raising Nong Bryan properly and were not ready to bring a child into the world.

Their friends were instrumental in uncovering the dark deed, after noticing the child was no longer with the parents. One friend, Nipphat, or Mon (no surname provided), said he saw the parents walking about the apartment alone so asked where the boy had gone.

"They said someone had taken their son into care," he told reporters after news of the arrests emerged. They also claimed the child was in hospital, or with Niphon's mother.

Their friends grew suspicious, however, and confronted the pair one night, while also filming the encounter on a phone.

The father, Niphon, initially refused to say where the child was, but under pressure admitted he and his partner had buried the body.

Their friends were clearly unhappy to hear the news, with one saying they should have treated their son's body better. Later the couple agreed to take them to the spot where Nong Bryan was buried.

One carried on filming as another dug into the hole and found the body, which was clothed in a nappy and had started to decompose. They contacted rescue workers and police later that night.

Police say they could find no sign of injuries on the boy's body but have sent it for an autopsy.

"I was too scared to say anything. My mother loved the child and I thought she might go into shock if she heard he died," Niphon told police, explaining their decision to keep quiet.

Niphon admitted to having tossed the infant from his bed once when they were playing together, but said the incident did not cause his death.

His friend Niphat, however, who helped raise the alarm, said he could see the pair were struggling and had offered to take care of Nong Bryan himself. "However, they went and buried him first," he said.

The parents say they took their ailing child to see the doctor "constantly" and handed over notes from the hospital where he was treated.

They claim a doctor, who treated the child for a lung infection, released the child back into their care and told them to prepare for the worst.

However, claims of abuse also have emerged, with their friends accusing the pair of taking drugs in the presence of the child, and leaving him unattended, without food or water, for several days with just an air fan going to keep him cool.

One friend of the mother's, Nong Thap Thim (no surname provided), said the couple would leave the child with others and not come back to collect him as arranged.

"He may have died because no one was feeding him, as they just weren't interested," she said.

Viewing CCTV images of the couple leaving their apartment without the child, one TV presenter remarked: "They seem much happier without the child in their lives".

Police tested the pair for drugs but found no sign.

Niphon's mother, meanwhile, said she knew Nong Bryan was often ill, though she did not have the chance to care for him much. News images taken at the police station showed she and her son in tears, with Niphon hugging his mother.

Police charged the pair with neglect of a child causing death and concealing a body. Further charges may follow depending on the autopsy result.

Riverside slaying reverb

A jailbird in Chachaoengsao who killed his uncle after he complained to police of assault has made good on his vow to kill him, but now faces a reprisal death threat of his own.

Bang Pakong police nabbed Phansa (no surname given), 36, for stabbing to death his uncle, Somchai (no surname given), 66, in Village 3 of Bang Pakong sub-district.

The victim's body fell into a boat moored on a mudflat by the Bang Pakong River, the murder weapon still embedded in the right side of his chest. When police arrived, the suspect's mother, Yupha (no surname given), 64, was in tears.

She said Somchai had been living in a hut by the river since his nephew was freed from jail recently and made repeated attempts to kill him.

"Phansa and his uncle had been at odds for years. Somchai chided him for sitting around at home rather than going out to find a job," she said.

"The two refused to talk after that until one day when the two came to blows."

Phansa, in a drug-fuelled rage, hit his uncle over the head with a piece of wood, leaving him with serious injuries. He complained to police and Phansa was jailed for assault.

Before he went in, Phansa threatened to kill his uncle in revenge. "Since getting out, he has made several attempts to kill his uncle, forcing Somchai to sleep in a hut by the river for his own safety," she said.

On June 3, he finally made good on the threat.

"Phansa walked out of the house, heading in the direction of the hut. We tried to stop him but we were not quick enough," she said.

Phansa, she said, hit his uncle and he fell off the bridge into the mud. Her son then pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim twice. Ms Yupha said she grabbed a piece of wood to hit her son in an attempt to stop Phansa, but wasn't quick enough.

Following the attack, Phansa jumped in the river and swam to the other side close to Klang Bang Pakong temple. He walked out onto old Sukhumvit Road before police caught up with him.

Later, Somchai's younger brother, a monk, turned up to inspect the body. In tears, he vowed that he would kill Phansa after he is freed from the inevitable jail sentence which awaits for killing Somchai.

Phansa, meanwhile, told police that he killed his uncle out of revenge, and that unlike last time, he wasn't high on drugs. They charged him with murder.

Rape claim sparks threat

A woman in Udon Thani says she was raped by a group including the former boyfriend of her partner's mother, though he denies it.

Police in Phen district say they were contacted by a woman identified as Piya (no surname given), 50, whose son, A, lives with the complainant, Biw (assumed name), 27.

She has a slight intellectual impairment but the two have been partners for three years and live at her place. On May 9 the pair argued and Biw packed up her stuff and left, intending to return to her home province of Phetchabun.

A relative of her partner's called offering to take her to Udon Thani railway station. She waited another 20 minutes when Kai (no surname provided), 63, the former fling of A's mother, turned up in a three-wheeled vehicle and offered to take her. When she refused, she says he slapped her face, punched her, and forced her in.

After driving to a remote soi he called three of his mates who turned up on motorbikes. He led them to a forest behind the Na Kha Subdistrict Administrative Organisation office in Muang district where she says he raped her, followed by his friends.

"Kai said that if I told anyone he'd kill the whole family," she told police, adding the attack lasted several hours.

When they had left, she walked out to the road, where a passing motorcyclist took her to the police. Biw also went to hospital for a check-up and news reports said the family was awaiting the result of tests to see if she was raped.

Her partner's mother, Piya, said she saw Kai for about two months. She called it off when she realised he had a family of his own but would flirt with anyone.

He was also a jealous type, and had a sadistic streak. "It ended with a big argument when her son had to intervene, and he promised vengeance," news reports said.

Piya contacted the media last week after their rape complaint to police failed to make progress. Kai, who spoke to TV reporters from his home, denied attacking Biw. He threatened to take legal action for harming his reputation. The case continues.