Five children left with 40 baht daily rescued from shopping centre life

Five children found living in a shopping centre, left by their parents with only 40 baht per day, have been rescued by Kan Jom Puan, also known as Kanthasat Pongphaiboonvech, along with officers from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and Bang Khen Police Station.

The children aged between one and 12 years old were discovered living in the food court area of a shopping centre near a children’s play zone. They had only a bedsheet, two dolls, a stroller, a bag of diapers, a food box, and a water bottle.

Local vendors in the area were the ones taking care of the children who, upon discovery, appeared malnourished and barefoot. The officers took the children and their mother for questioning at Bang Khen Police Station.

According to Kan Jom Puan, the case came to light after locals reported seeing five siblings abandoned to live in the shopping centre for the last three months. The oldest child, 12 years old, was left taking care of the others, with the youngest being only one year old and having to drink water instead of milk.

The parents used to leave 40 baht per day for food, which was not enough for all the children, resulting in vendors from the shopping centre having to provide them with food.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the parents would drop off the children in the morning and pick them up in the evening. The mother once told the children they would have to stay there for a year before they could go back to school.

Abandoned children

This unsettling situation made the local people uncomfortable as children should be allowed to go to school and not be left to fend for themselves. As a result, the Department of Children and Youth, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, was contacted to assist.

At 4.20pm, the officers from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security had a conversation with 29 year old mother of five children, Malisa. She revealed that her children were aged 12, 10, 8, 2, and 1.

The first three are from her previous marriage, and the last two are from her current husband. The reason she had to leave her children at the shopping centre was due to her circumstances and not having a place to care for them. Currently, her husband is unemployed and looking for work while she works as a beautician, earning 320 baht per day to support her family of seven.

The place they rent does not allow children during the day due to noise complaints. Initially, she let her children stay with her in-laws, who worked in a restaurant near the shopping centre. But later, the restaurant did not allow the children to stay because their playing was disturbing the customers.

Not knowing where else to go, she decided to leave her children at the shopping centre, which was close to her workplace. She would leave them in the morning and pick them up in the evening, leaving them with 40-60 baht per day, knowing it was not enough. During the day, she and her husband would alternatively come to see the children and bring them food.

Following this, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security will take care of the children at the Ministry’s shelter. Even though she will miss her children, she knows it is for their future.

Malisa plans to work hard to save money for a place for her children. Once she is stable, she will bring her children back and insists that she wants her children to get an education.

The oldest three were studying in Saraburi Province before they moved here, but she hasn’t been able to enrol them in a school here yet. She is trying to save some money for their education, reported Sanook.