Demand for stricter juvenile law after brutal murder by teenagers in Sa Kaeo

The brutal murder of a woman in Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district by five teenagers has triggered demands for stricter penalties for serious offences committed by juvenile delinquents.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday, January 11, saw the teenagers, aged between 13 and 16, captured on security camera footage attacking the woman, 47 year old Buaphan Tansu, and later confessing to disposing of her body in a lake. They are currently being held in connection to her murder.

The need to re-evaluate stricter punishments for juveniles committing grave crimes is pressing, especially in light of the Siam Paragon shooting spree by a 14 year old in Bangkok on October 3 last year, stated Chaichana Detdacho, Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Democrat Party MP and chairman of the House committee on police affairs. The Bangkok shooting had resulted in three fatalities and four injuries.

Chat history from the Line app obtained from the teenagers involved in the Aranyaprathet murder revealed a propensity for violence, with their behaviour mirroring that of a juvenile crime syndicate rather than typical teenagers, according to Chaichana. He raised concerns about the potential exploitation of young people as drug mules if the existing juvenile criminal law loophole remains unaddressed.

Senator Wallop Tungkananurak, chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Development, children, youths, women, the elderly, disabled and underprivileged, suggested modifications to the juvenile criminal law, including a longer detention period for young offenders involved in serious crimes and likely to re-offend.

The Child Protection Act principally entitles every child guilty of a non-violent crime to the possibility of being absolved from prosecution and avoiding a lifelong criminal record, explained Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, a Move Forward Party MP for Bangkok.

“Given the nature of the Aranyaprathet murder, the public prosecutor may seek the judges’ decision on the case as if these young suspects were adults.”

Murder Confession

Nattacha noted that a prosecutor’s plea could lead to harsher penalties, particularly with emerging evidence of the suspects’ involvement in other cases. Their misconduct wasn’t an unintentional mistake but a habit.

He also touched on allegations of torture of the victim’s husband, 54 year old Panya Khongsaengkham, by local police into making a false murder confession, urging the national police chief to investigate this misconduct.

Chaichana also highlighted that the House panel is closely monitoring the police’s management of a related probe into the alleged torture of a suspect, noting that one of the five teenagers is the son of an Aranyaprathet police official.

Panya, who was arrested shortly after his wife’s body was discovered on January 12, confessed to the crime before security camera footage revealed the teenagers’ involvement. He later admitted to making the false confession under duress, stating he was told to strip and wouldn’t be allowed to leave the station until he had signed a written confession, reported Bangkok Post.

The ongoing investigation will also include the possibility of officer misconduct at the station, and if the station chief was aware and chose to ignore it, he will be liable for dereliction of duty, according to Deputy Police Chief Surachate ” Big Joke” Hakparn.

Big Joke reflected that if the police are all this bad maybe the country no longer needs a police force.

“I insist I will clear this up and prove this allegation of misconduct. The national police chief, Torsak Sukvimol, echoed these sentiments.”