Chumphon woman arrested for using meth with child beside her
A woman in Chumphon was arrested along with four others after she was found taking methamphetamine with her current and former partners, all while her young child sat beside them.
The incident unfolded in the Tha Sae district after Salui police received a tip-off from a concerned resident. Officers raided a house among rubber trees in Hong Charoen subdistrict, where five adults were found using meth in a circle as a five year old child sat quietly alongside them.
The 30 year old mother admitted to ordering meth pills from a dealer known only as Daeng, typically buying 2,000 pills at a time to divide between personal use and sales. She told police that her descent into drug dealing began years ago after her 20 year old ex-husband abandoned her while she was pregnant. Since then, she claimed, she had relied on drug sales to survive and support her son.
When her son turned five, she moved in with a new 25 year old husband and left the boy in the care of her 15 year old niece, who was paid with two to three meth pills and 200 baht each time the mother came to visit. During those visits, the group would gather in a circle to use meth, with the niece, the niece’s boyfriend, and the former husband also joining in.
The mother also gave up names of others involved in the local drug network, allowing police to arrest three more suspects and seize 123 meth pills in follow-up operations, reported CH7.
All adult suspects, including the mother, face charges of methamphetamine use and possession. The niece, however, was handed over to her guardian and will enter a drug rehabilitation programme.
When authorities tried to place the five year old boy into protective custody at a government children’s shelter, the mother refused and insisted she would rather bring him to prison with her. That request was denied, and the boy was ultimately handed over to his biological grandfather, with welfare officers to continue monitoring his wellbeing.
In a separate drug arrest, a man posing as a monk was arrested in Ang Thong, after police discovered him without monkhood credentials and attempting to fake a urine test.
