12 year old girl abused and abandoned by family in Isaan

A 12 year old girl physically abused by her stepfather and grandparents was left abandoned on a roadside in the Isaan province of Nong Bua Lamphu. Fortunately, a warm-hearted local took pity on the girl and helped to find her aunt.

Rattiya Anusuriya found the abandoned 12 year old alone and shivering in front of her house in the Na Klang district of Nong Bua Lamphu at about 4am last Saturday. Before she spotted the girl, she heard people talking to each other inside a white car that was parked in front of her house.

One person was heard saying, “Where is your aunt’s house? Can’t remember it? Why are you so stupid?”

Rattiya explained that she did not pay much attention to the car or the conversation until she went out to go to the market and found the girl standing and shivering due to the cold weather in the morning.

The 40 year old woman reported that the girl had visible injuries and bruises on her body, indicating that she had been mistreated by her family members. She took the girl into her home and inquired about her family.

The girl told Rattiya that she had travelled from Chon Buri with her grandparents who left her stranded by the roadside and instructed her to find her aunt’s house on her own. They told her that they would send money later and drove away.

Rattiya contacted a community leader until she found the girl’s aunt, 47 year old Suwanna.

Reporters from Channel 7 visited Suwanna’s house to interview her. Suwanna said the girl was a daughter of her brother and a woman named Nim. The two broke up when the girl was four years old.

Her brother went to work in Bangkok while Nim remarried and moved to Chon Buri. So, the girl lived with her in Nong Bua Lamphu until she turned eight years old. Then, Nim took her to Chon Buri. Suwanna said she had not seen her niece since then.

Suwanna informed the reporter that her niece had been beaten by her stepfather and grandparents when she was living in Chon Buri. She had already filed a complaint against them and the girl’s mother, Nim, for physically abusing her niece.

After the story of her daughter went viral, Nim gave an interview to the media. She said that she had to send her daughter to Suwanna because she and her new family were unable to manage the girl’s behaviour. Nim stated that her daughter frequently stole and was stubborn.

Nim admitted that her husband and his parents beat the girl sometimes but they did it to teach the girl a lesson. Nim said she would contact Suwanna to clarify everything.

The superintendent of the Na Klang Police Station, Jakkaphat Wichitwaitaya, reported that officers from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry would take care of the girl.

Jakkaphat stated that, based on Section 265 of the Criminal Law, Nim and her family could face penalties for child abuse. The charge carries a potential sentence of imprisonment for up to three months, a fine of up to 30,000 baht, or both.