Stepdad admits killing 6-year-old son

Stepdad admits killing 6-year-old son

TRAT: A man has admitted to killing his six-year-old stepson after allegedly beating him up and leaving him to die in a car, provincial police said on Monday.

The boy was found dead in Laem Ngob district on Sunday in an old Honda sedan belonging to his stepfather, Panya Chaichiang-em, 44.

He and the boy's biological mother were later taken in by police for questioning during which he denied the boy had been assaulted.

However, Trat provincial police chief, Pol Maj Gen Pakorn Maneepakorn, yesterday said a preliminary examination found the boy suffered a fractured skull and a broken right arm.

When confronted with this yesterday Pol Maj Gen Pakorn said Mr Panya admitted to beating the boy unconscious on Saturday night.

He said then put the boy in his car at around midnight before finding him dead the following morning on Sunday.

The autopsy exam confirmed the boy had died six hours before he was found. Mr Panya maintained the boy was still alive when he placed him in the car.

Pol Maj Gen Pakorn said Mr Panya was a drug addict and had been angered by the boy crying.

Mr Panya has initially been charged with manslaughter but could face murder charges as the investigation deepens. Police were looking to see if he had intended to kill the boy.

The provincial police chief said it appeared the boy had been subjected to violence for some time. His mother did not report any prior assaults because she relied on the boy's stepfather financially. No charges have yet been pressed against the mother.

Investigators were given permission by local religious leaders to delay the burial of the boy's body, which under Islamic law normally takes place within 24 hours of death.

Pol Maj Gen Pakorn said relatives and neighbours were being asked to give statements to police.

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