3 Thai children rescued after being abused by their foster family
Non-profit organisation Pen Nueng (เป็นหนึ่ง) swooped to rescue three children who had been routinely abused by their foster family for years.
A neighbour could not bear witness to the abuse any longer and reported the matter to Pen Nueang. The neighbour explained that the three children had been adopted by a couple who had, at first, provided them with loving care. However, as time passed, the couple’s affections shifted entirely towards their biological grandchildren. The adopted children were subjected to forced labour in the family’s pig slaughterhouse business and had to do all the housework.
They were neglected and abused by the family. All three children had scars and wounds all over their bodies and were not receiving proper care or treatment.
The organisation’s team rushed to the house in the southern province of Prachaub Kiri Khan on November 6 to talk to the family and rescue the three children.
According to Pen Nueang, a 57 year old man named Phon and a 46 year old woman named Phan offered to foster the three children, a seven year old boy named Big, a six year old boy named Boss and a three year old girl named Bee.
Phon and Phan denied abusing the three children, claiming that they were unruly and had caused themselves injuries. They also admitted that they physically punished them because they saw it as normal, as other parents did with their children.
Physical abuse, neglect
The Pen Nueang team took the three children to Bang Saphan Noi Police Station for questioning. The eldest sibling looked stressed and worried while the younger boy was crying.
The organisation’s president, Chalida Palamart, calmed the children and told them that she and other officers were trying to save them from their suffering. Chalida inquired about the origins of their wounds, and the eldest brother, Boss, eventually agreed to reveal the information.
Boss revealed he had to work in the slaughterhouse where the floor was always wet and slippery, so he slipped and fell into a pot of boiling water. The stepmother did not take him to the hospital. She gave him antibiotics and applied aloe vera to his wounds.
Boss asked the team to check the wound on his brother’s back. Big showed his wound and revealed that his stepsister had hit him with a knife.
Chalida added that the three year old girl also had wounds all over her body. She had motorcycle exhaust burns on her hands and arms and several insect bites all over her body.
Boss added that they had to sleep on the sofa with a dog and that the insect bites could be from ticks and fleas.
Safe and sound
According to the Pen Nueng organisation, the biological parents of the children were drug addicts who were unable to take care of them. Their father suffers from mental health issues exacerbated by drug use while their mother had just left hospital after giving birth.
The foundation told the public that it had rescued the children and placed them in the Prachuab Kiri Khan Children’s Shelter. They would be under the care of specialists to treat the children’s wounds both physically and mentally.
As for the legal charges against the foster family, the police would conduct further investigations and question each member of the family before pressing charges.
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