Family of 5, including 3-month-old baby, brutally murdered in northern Thailand
Police are investigating the brutal murder of five members of an indigenous Hmong family in the northern province of Tak. The culprit behind the crime remains at large. The youngest victim was a mere three months old.
The community leader of Baan Sirirak in the Wang Chao district of Tak promptly informed the police after making the grim discovery of the bodies at a plantation near a creek, approximately 10 kilometres away from the neighbourhood.
The five victims, who were members of the same family, have been identified as a couple with three children, including 46 year old Chao Manpatthanakarn, 34 year old Jia Saengsawang, 10 year old Phiphiboon Manpatthanakarn, seven year old Ekkapon Manpatthanakarn, and the three-month-old Waranya Manpatthanakarn.
According to the police, the cause of death for the five members of the family was a combination of gunshots and stab wounds. The bodies, which were in an advanced state of decomposition, appeared to have been dead for several days. A single 9mm bullet casing was found near the corpses.
The brutal murder has attracted significant public attention and has left the Tak community in shock and fear. The investigation is being conducted by the Wang Chao Police Station, which reassured the public that they are making every effort to apprehend the murderer and bring them to justice.
The police believe that the murder of the five members of the family may have been committed by a human trafficking gang.
The plantation where the bodies were discovered is located along a major route used by traffickers to smuggle illegal workers from a neighbouring country, and it is believed that the family may have witnessed the illegal activity and the murderer wanted to cover it up.
Tak is a province situated along the borders of Myanmar to the north and west and Laos to the east. Its porous borders make it a potential transit point for human traffickers who are seeking to smuggle individuals across the borders.
Another neighbouring province, Chiang Rai, also faces similar human trafficking problems, both from individuals from nearby countries and residents.
