Woman leaves fetus in a box at temple in northeast Thailand

A woman brought a box with a fetus inside it to a temple in Udon Thani province, northeast Thailand, on Wednesday. She told the monks she had a miscarriage and she wanted them to pray for the baby’s spirit. The woman said she would come back the next day to collect the fetus, but she didn’t come back.

At 6pm yesterday, police from Muang Udon Thani Police Station received a strange call from monks at Weluwan temple in Ban Nong Phai in Muang district. The monks told police a woman had left a dead fetus at the temple, so they went to investigate.

Police met with 75 year old Phra Tiraek Katapanya, who has been a monk for 20 years, at the temple. The monk told police that on Wednesday afternoon, two middle aged woman and a man arrived at the temple on a yellow motorcycle.

One of the woman handed a plastic box, a comb and a carton of milk to Phra Tiraek. The woman told the monk she had a miscarriage and wanted the monk to pray for unborn baby’s spirit. She said she would come back the next day with offerings for the monks.

The monks prayed and conducted a ceremony for the baby’s spirit. Then they placed the box in front of their living quarters. On Wednesday night, the dogs at the temple howled all night, said Phra Tiraek. He said it was very strange as the dogs do not usually howl. Perhaps they could see the baby’s spirit, said the monk.

The next day, the lady never came back, and Phra Tiraek started to feel uneasy. The monk said a fowl smell was coming from the box, and because the woman still didn’t return, he decided to open it. Although he knew what was in the box, he was still upset by what he saw.

Phra Tiraek said that because of the foul smell, he closed the box and buried it 100 metres away from the temple next to the temple walls. Then, he rang the police at around 6pm.

The village chief told police he knew who the woman was. He knew that a 25 year old woman from the village who has a Taiwanese boyfriend was pregnant for about two months, but then she recently got into a car accident and lost the baby.

It is unclear why the woman never returned to the temple.

SOURCE: Sanook