The latest autopsy on "Nong Chompoo" -- the three-year-old girl who was found dead in a forest in Mukdahan last week -- suggests that the child may have been sexually assaulted.
The autopsy, requested by the victim's parents, was carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police General Hospital on Sunday. The results are at odds with the initial autopsy performed by Ubon Ratchathani Hospital, which did not report any signs of sexual assault.
Pol Col Watee Asawutmangkun, deputy spokesperson of the Police General Hospital, said forensic experts found drops of fluid in the victim's genital area. However, they have yet to determine whether or not the fluid was semen.
In addition, said Pol Col Watee, forensic examiners were collecting further blood and other tissue samples from the victim in order to carry out a full investigation to determine the exact cause and circumstances surrounding the girl's death.
"The whole process can take up to 30 days to complete," the deputy spokesperson for the hospital said, before adding that relatives have been asked to bring back the body, which was being prepared for a funeral service.
The three-year-old girl, known by her nickname "Nong Chompoo", disappeared from her home in a village in Dong Luang district, near Phu Phao Yon in Mukdahan on May 11.
Her parents had gone to run errands elsewhere, so they let their older daughter look after her. The girl reportedly told police that her little sister had simply wandered off and disappeared.
On May 14, her dead body was found in the forest, about two kilometres from her home.
Local authorities have summoned two people for interrogation, yet no charges have been filed so far. Police said they were waiting for more forensic evidence to establish a case.
Village residents now live in fear, with many saying that a kidnapper is on the loose. Noy, surname withheld, said her neighbours are convinced that the girl was abducted. "It's impossible for a three-year-old girl to wander that far into the forest," she said.
While residents believe that police will eventually arrest the culprits, parents are taking precautionary measures by forbidding their children from leaving their homes without supervision. Villagers have also started a 24-hour patrol.
"We won't have peace until the culprits are arrested," Noy said.