The story of Tor, a toddler in Nakhon Pathom who was initially believed to have been kidnapped before it was determined that he was dumped into the Tha Chin River by his own mother, is more than just a simple homicide. The case reflects a deep-rooted social problem in our society, which requires a concerted and systematic effort to eradicate.
The saga began with Nim -- not her real name -- telling police in Nakhon Pathom on Feb 5 that her eight-month-old son had gone missing. In response to her report, local authorities conducted a search for the missing boy. The case attracted so much attention that the Royal Thai Police assigned deputy national police chief, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, to monitor the case.
However, after several rounds of questioning using a lie detector, the 17-year-old confessed on Monday that she had engineered the whole situation. Nim said that after she accidentally dropped the toddler on the floor while trying to comfort him, she decided to throw her son into the Tha Chin River, as she believed the boy had died from the impact. As of press time yesterday, Tor's body has not been found.
On the surface, it seemed the teen mum deserved all the condemnation which has been thrown her way. Most people didn't care enough to look into what drove the 17-year-old to commit such a heinous act. Even fewer doubted that Nim might be the victim, not the villain, in this story.
Nim is just a drop in the ocean. In 2020 there were 56,000 cases of unwanted pregnancies involving mothers under 19 in Thailand. She was born to a poor family and is struggling to make ends meet. Her father is a low-paid worker at a waste sorting facility. Her mother is bed-ridden, deaf and unable to effectively communicate with the family.
In an interview with social workers, Nim said she was a victim of bullying, which prompted her to drop out of school at an early age.
With no friends or family to turn to, she has no means to support herself, let alone achieve her dreams and goals.
The case took an even darker turn when a DNA test showed that her husband, Phut, 19, is not Tor's biological father. The father, as it turned out, is an elderly neighbour, a friend of her father.
While the police have yet to release more details on the case, there are suspicions that Phut pimped Nim out to their neighbours, as investigators found obscene photos of Nim with several men in Phut's mobile phone. Armed with the evidence, police charged Phut with solicitation of a minor.
Before the case fades away from public attention, the authorities should learn from Nim's plight.
They should have been more proactive in extending support to at-risk individuals and families. That way, other people like Nim would know that they won't have to carry the burden alone.
It is time for the state, together with civic networks, to start thinking seriously about teen pregnancies, as well as access to community support and facilities. Local support groups must be empowered to enable them to help so other girls like Nim don't meet a tragic end.