Big Joke urges police to step up search for missing baby in central Thailand

Thailand‘s Deputy National Police Chief General Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn urges police to step up efforts in the search for a missing baby in the central Nakhon Pathom province.

Surachate summoned a team of investigators to meet with him at the Royal Thai Police headquarters to assess the progress of the case and to see what can be done to further the investigation.

The parents of the missing baby, 19 year old Sitthichoke Saengsawang and 16 year old Philaiporn Korcharoen, told police that their son went missing from their home in Bang Lane district at around 7.30am on February 5. Philaiporn said she was sleeping with the baby, Torsak, and felt someone take him away without waking her up. When she woke up, she could not find the baby with any relatives.

Police checked security footage, but have not found any sign of the baby being carried away by anyone, Nation Thailand reported. Surachate noted that he had heard reports of a trace of the blood being found on the baby’s pillow. He said this was why he summoned investigators to find out why the evidence had not been properly gathered. Surachate said…

“The investigation has gone nowhere so I had to summon the team to inquire about the progress.”

Surachate expressed concern about the lack of progress in the case and highlighted the importance of thorough investigation and evidence collection. He expressed the belief that all police investigators are equally capable, but some work harder than others. In light of reports that a trace of blood was found on the baby’s pillow, Surachate stressed the importance of collecting evidence properly to find out the truth.

Last week, an official from the Mirror Foundation, an NGO that works to locate missing people and children, said that it would be impossible for outsiders to reach the house and kidnap the baby. He noted that in most cases of missing children that the foundation has dealt with, family members were the culprits.

A neighbour told police last week that he went to the couple’s house, which is also a grocery store and saw the missing baby boy, the couple, and a niece at home after the baby was said to have gone missing. Other neighbours have told the police that they did not see any strangers in the neighbourhood. It was reported that suspicion had grown that the parents may have been responsible for the disappearance of their baby.