Drunk man holds baby hostage at knifepoint to get his wife back

Police in Samut Prakan were in an intense standoff with a drunken father who took his eight month old baby hostage. The man had been estranged from his wife who left to travel to the provinces. After apparently visiting his own parents, he grabbed a kitchen knife and his infant child in the middle of the night yesterday.

North Samrong Police officers received word of the kidnapping 2.30am and rushed to the scene Bang Muang sub-district of the Bangkok suburb province. The police confronted the man in a car park in Soi Patraniwet and the incident was captured on video as reported by 77kaoded.

The police spent an hour trying to convince the man to drop his weapon and hand the baby he held hostage back to its mother. The video footage shows the mother approaching and carefully taking the baby back from the man as people on the scene clapped.

The man’s father told police that his son had a turbulent relationship with his wife. He had beaten her many times and she was escaping the abusive relationship to go stay in the countryside. His father said that man and his wife had a dysfunctional relationship for the last 10 years, long before the baby was born.

The mother had been the primary earner in the family so when she left the man had not been working and was unable to support himself or the baby he took hostage yesterday. After his drunken attack, he said he wanted his wife to return to take care of their children, although the number of children they have together was not confirmed reporting by ASEAN Now.

Police took the man into custody after he released his hostage baby and the knife, and transported him to the local police station to calm down. There was no information on whether charges will be filed against the man.