Yaba ordeal: Mother seeks aid as son’s dark turn targets family cat

A Thai mother reached out to a non-profit organisation for help after her 10 year old son was exposed to methamphetamine, commonly known as Yaba, and attempted to kill the family’s pet cat.

The woman told the Paveena Foundation for Women and Children that her son’s personality had changed for the worse during the past month. The boy is out of control, displaying uncharacteristic aggressive behaviour, and turning on family members which had never happened before.

According to the woman, the situation escalated on August 25 when the boy attempted to kill the family cat. The woman said she saw her son holding a knife to the cat’s neck ready to slit the animal’s throat. She managed to intervene and rescued the cat in time.

Alarmed by the abrupt and distressing shift in her son’s behaviour, the mother took him to a hospital for a thorough evaluation. A subsequent drug test revealed shocking results that the boy had tested positive for Yaba.

The boy then revealed the whole story behind his drug addiction to his mother. He explained that a neighbour named Singha lured him into using Yaba. Singha gave him two to three pills per day in exchange for 50 to 100 baht. He had to find the money to give to Singha otherwise he would suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

The boy’s mother explained to the foundation that she did not dare to file a complaint against Singha and chose to care of her son during his withdrawal stage. However, Singha threatened the boy and forced him to use drugs and find money for him. Singha also tried to crash his car into the boy twice.

The mother added that his son is not the first and only victim. Many teenagers in the community are under Singha’s influence as well.

The mother decided to report the issue to the Chana Police Station. Officers summoned Singha for further questioning but he fled to Malaysia while his wife and son continued threatening the boy’s family. They said they were not afraid of the police and know an influential person that can help Singha.

With worries about her son’s safety, the mother turned to the Paveena Foundation for assistance and protection.

Officers then cooperated with the local authorities until they managed to track down and arrest Singha. The police found heroin, crystal meth, and Yaba in his possession.

Singha is in police custody but he is denying all allegations. An investigating officer revealed he would question Singha more in detail before issuing charges for his actions.