Emotional man holds daughter hostage in bid to win back his estranged wife

An emotional man tried to hold his eight year old daughter hostage at school in the Nang Rong district in the Isaan province of Buriram in a bid to win back his estranged wife after she asked for a divorce.

A teacher notified the police when the 35 year old father broke down crying in the classroom.

Police managed to apprehend the man, named Kong, and took him to Nang Rong Police Station. No students or school staff were injured in the incident.

The teacher reported that two men, one carrying a pizza box, were stopped by security at the school gates. The man with the pizza told the guard that he wanted to give it to his daughter. The security guard checked and found that Kong was the father of the girl, so he let him into the school.

The teacher allowed Kong to talk to his daughter in a classroom during the lunchtime break but then he broke down, hugged his daughter and started wailing in sorrow about his family problems as other children looked on.

While her father was crying, the girl said, “Dad, I don’t want to die.”

The teacher became worried, evacuated the other students and called the police.

Officers rushed to the school and managed to control the emotional Kong after about 30 minutes of being notified. He continued crying at the police station.

Kong told police that his wife, Wan, asked for a divorce after 11 years of marriage. They had been separated for six months but he missed her and tried to win her back.

Kong insisted that he was sad and just wanted to see his daughter. He had no plan to hold her hostage or hurt anyone. He hoped his wife would forgive him and take him back.

Wan told police that Kong tried to shoot her with a pen gun three days ago but instead shot himself in the hand.

Wan said there was no chance of reconciliation because she said he was always drunk and violent. She warned Kong to stop his unruly behaviour several times in the past but he ignored them. So, she asked for a divorce.