Thai mother seeks help to locate missing child after babysitter swaps baby
A Thai woman is seeking help to locate her missing child after a babysitter allegedly lost the infant and replaced the baby with another child.
The 24 year old mother, identified only as Joy, approached the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women to assist in finding her biological child. She said she had already taken legal action against the babysitter, Som, who has been prosecuted, but her child remains missing.
Joy told the foundation she gave birth on October 6, 2022, and later hired Som as a babysitter, paying 8,000 baht per month. As a single mother working in construction, she said she was unable to care for the child full-time.
About one month later, Som told Joy that a couple wanted to adopt the baby and would offer 20,000 baht. Joy refused and continued employing Som.
In March 2023, Som ended her employment and returned a five month old child to Joy. Joy and her family raised the baby, although they noticed differences in appearance, including facial features and skin tone.
The situation changed in March 2024 when a woman identified as Ann contacted Joy, claiming to be the biological mother of the child Joy was raising. Ann provided photographs to support her claim.
Joy then arranged a DNA test, which confirmed that she was not biologically related to the child. She attempted to contact Som, but said the babysitter blocked all communication, leading her to file a police complaint.
According to Joy, Som later admitted losing the original child and suspected a Burmese woman had taken the infant. Som claimed she had left the baby with a Burmese neighbour named Whan while going to the hospital, and upon returning, both the neighbour and child were gone.
Som then contacted Ann and encouraged her to offer her child to Joy for 10,000 baht. Ann agreed, and Som then presented Ann’s child as Joy’s child.
Joy said police prosecuted Som for the baby swap. She was charged with taking a child under 15 from a parent or guardian for profit.
However, she said no further investigation has yet been conducted to locate her missing child. She has spent months searching for the woman identified as Whan and her biological child, but has found no leads.
The Pavena Foundation has coordinated with police to summon Som, Ann and any other relevant individuals for questioning as part of efforts to trace the missing child.
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