Thai woman abandons 7 year old daughter at Krabi bus terminal

A Thai woman abandoned her seven year old daughter at a bus terminal in the southern province of Krabi on March 18. The girl is now safe in the care of her father.

Vendors by the Transport Company Limited bus terminal in Krabi sought help from Mueang Krabi Police Station after they found the girl, Nam, wandering around the place looking for her mother.

The vendors helped take care of the girl, giving her food, drink and some money while they waited for the police to arrive.

From the security cameras and information from witnesses at the scene, police reported that Nam’s mother, 25 year old Kanokwan, brought the girl to the terminal. She and the girl were seen entering a shower room at the terminal together but Kanokwan was left alone.

Kanokwan was seen walking quickly to the Phuket-Pattalung bus and leaving the terminal without her daughter.

A vendor whose shop was near the shower room told police that Nam finished showering and went out to look for her mother, prompting people at the bus terminal to join the search and later report the matter to the police.

Safe and sound

A 67 year old Thai man, Wichai, claimed that he was sitting near the shower room when Kanokwan and Nam arrived. He said he heard Kanokwan tell her daughter to take a shower and wait for her father at the terminal.

Police officers made a call to the driver of the Phuket-Pattalung bus and requested to talk with Kanokwan but the woman refused. Officers later obtained Kanokwan’s phone number and spoke to her.

Kanokwan told police that Nam’s father worked at a construction site in the Klongtom district of Krabi, and he would come to the terminal to pick Nam up. Kanokwan immediately hung up the phone and blocked police from contacting her.

Police then contacted Nam’s father. He said he would pick up his daughter and asked police to take the girl to a grocery store owned by his employer.

One 31 reported that on March 19 the girl’s father had picked up his daughter and she is now safe in his care.

There was no report of the conflict between Nam’s parents, no news of why the girl’s mother abandoned her and no legal action was taken against Kanokwan.

According to Section 306 of the Criminal Law, abandoning children aged under nine years old results in imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to 60,000 baht or both.