(16 May) The shocking case of “Potter”, a 3 year old boy who was found dead after a teacher reportedly left him in a parked and locked vehicle for 7 hours has some new developments.

Currently, the parents and family members have taken the boy’s body to perform religious funeral rites at their house. Meanwhile, the owner of the school revealed that the boy had not been registered as a student in Utumpornwittiya School, and was not yet enrolled.

Ms.Tunyatorn Boonma, 27, Potter’s mother, said at his funeral that the owner of the school informed her that her son was not yet enrolled in Utumpornwittiya school. She says the school owner simply does not want to take responsibility for the incident, and insists that her son had been attending pre-school classes at the school since last year.

Ms. Tunyatorn said it is impossible her son was not listed in the school records, adding that even during the summer break,his teacher assigned some homework to Potter as well.

She told our correspondent that on 9 May, the school contacted her and asked for her ID card, her son’s birth certificate, and her home registration,which she provided to them on 10 May. They also informed her that Nong Potter, who was 2 years and 6 months old, was old enough to enroll in the school.

The school reportedly insured her that, even though her son was very young, a teacher will take care of him and take him to and from school. Now, with her son dead, Ms. Tunyatorn pleads the school to take action since they must be well aware of the identity of this teacher and all the family wants is justice. She also asked the Minister of Education to assist with her case.

On the same day, at 09.15, Ms.Ampika Petchnam, 32, teacher of Utumpornwittiya School, arrived at Utumpornpisai police station in Sisaket province and identified herself as the driver of the vehicle.

Ms.Ampika pleaded guilty to all charges and informed police that she would gladly pay for all damages caused to Potter′s family.She has level 1 insurance on her vehicle with Erawan Insurance Company.

She stated that she, herself, has a small child and did not mean for the incident to take place, saying that she accepts full responsibility for this case and knows she has wronged the family of her student. She informed police that she had been helping Potter’s family ever since the accident, and is the host of his funeral service as well.

Ms. Ampika was granted bail.

Mr. Pranorm Petchnam, 58, Ms.Ampika’s mother, said that her daughter has been with Potter’s family since the incident but the reporters simply did not know that. She also reportedly gave 20,000 baht to the family and helped with the funeral,the tents, the cooking, etc.

My daughter has been shocked ever since the incident and became very flustered. Sometimes I can?t make any sense in her speech. She has been crying all the time because she feels bad for Nong (little brother) Potter, Ms. Pranorm said to reporters.

(15 May) Police apprehend 2 muggers that have struck for 20 times near Yanawa police station by dressing as document messengers and grabbing the victims? purses before speeding away on motorcycles.

Police officers of Yanawa police station announced the arrest of Mr.Anycha Puduangjit, 23, and Mr.Somjet Samseenual, 18, along with the confiscation of an unlicensed Yamaha motorcycle, disguise clothing, and stolen property from the muggings. The suspects were apprehended in Silom area.

Pol.Maj.Gen.Wullop said that there were many reported muggings in the area and at noon on May 14th, officers patrolled Silom road and found the 2 suspects dressed as messengers on motorcycles.

After his arrest, Mr.Anucha informed police he used to be a messenger and he asked his brother in law, Mr.Somjet, to help him with the muggings.

Police investigated the security camera footage which revealed that the suspects often struck during the day, choosing office workers as their victims. After their arrest, their house was searched and police uncovered many stolen articles such as cellphones, women’s purses, watches, cameras, and other belongings. The goods were divided among them and sold for cash to be spent at their leisure.

The suspects said in press conference that they chose to dress as office messengers to blend in with the surroundings, which is an office building area. They admitted to about 20 muggings in the Yanawa area.

Police said any persons who think they might have been the victims of these men are urged to come to Yanawa police station to identify the suspect. The suspects are initially charged with mugging and receiving stolen goods and now await legal prosecution.

(15 May) Mother of the 17 year old boy killed by sniper fire during clashes between the army and Redshirts in May 2010 said she is still fighting for justice on her son′s behalf.

Samapan Sritep, nicknamed ?Cher?, was shot and killed on pavement near Soi Rangnam in central Bangkok. Witnesses and various evidences say the sniper fire which struck him in the head came from the military position.

On the 3rd anniversary of his death, his parents led a ceremony at the spot where he was killed to mourn his death. 100 people attended the event, which included lighting candles, poem reading, music performance, and a mime. Some people laid down flowers, some stood quietly in mourning.

Ms. Sumapon Sritep, Cher′s mother, said she could not take the news of her son′s death in first 2 years, and only managed to tell herself to live with the fact that he would not come home forever as she entered the 3rd year.

She said she had held events mourning his death in previous anniversaries but would not do so again next year, adding that she would prefer organize fundraising event for political activists so they can push for change in society.

Concerning Cher′s death, Ms. Sumapon said the Division of Special Investigation (DSI) told her they lack evidence in the case so they cannot pursue court hearing. However, she said she′s determined to fight and ask for justice on her son′s behalf.

I will not let this matter fall into silence, Ms. Sumapon told our correspondent.

(15 May) Amnesty International (AI) said the Thai government′s decision to unshackle over 500 prisoners at Bangkwang Prison, Nonthaburi, is a long-overdue step that would improve Thailand′s human rights practices.

In a press release, the AI says Thailand should also recognise rights in life and dignity of prisoners by pushing for abolition of death penalty altogether.

Earlier today, PM Yingluck Shinawatra , along with Deputy Prime Minister Captain Chalerm Yoobamrung, Nuttawut Saikua, Deputy Minister of Commerce, and Mr.Korkaew Pikulthong, Pheu Thai partylist MP, presided over a ceremony to unchain the 563 death row inmates at Bangkwang Prison. They were part of pilot programme that would eventually see the unchaining of all 800 death row prisoners.

The program is intended to show that Thai government is focusing on the human rights of inmates.

Pol.Col.Suchat Wongananchai, Department of Corrections, said that the Bangkwang prison is a maximum security prison, where the maximum sentence is death. It is also the only prison in Thailand with death row.

He told our correspondent that the prison has experimented with the removal of the shackles that keep prisoners in chains since 23 January. Prisoners who had their chains removed included 16 prisoners with less than 50 year sentence, 34 prisoners sentenced to life, and 513 death row prisoners, 563 in total.

The result of the experiment include a change in behavior in the inmates and they were able to move around more freely, without chains holding them down, Pol.Col. Suchat said, adding that there will also continue to be unchaining ceremonies at other penitentiaries across the country.

Male inmate Wisut Boonkasaemsun, ex gynecologist at the Chulalongkorn Hospital who was found guilty of murdering his wife, said that today he felt happy for his inmate friends who have been unchained.

He said to be on death row and was chained down for almost 4 years. The physical and mental pain caused by the chains is still alive in his mind even though years have passed. It was a feeling of constant discomfort while he was sitting,sleeping, going to the toilet.

But the pain, he said, was at its greatest in his heart.He said that he felt like he was a hell creature, a non-human. He thinks that all chained inmates feel the same way.

This kindness offered today is easing the torment in hell to some extent, Mr. Wisut said.

It should be noted that although shackles are mostly applied to serious crime prisoners or suspects, those who were charged with lese majeste, such as Mr. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, are often shackled when they appear before the judges. The practice has caused uproar among civil rights activists who see it as further punishment of ?prisoners of conscience?.

(15 May) The nation is in shock after a kindergarten student in Sisaket province was left in the parking school bus for 7 hours, leading to his death – just a month after a similar case happened in Samut Prakan province.

Today at 15.30 pm police received reports of a boy being locked inside a school bus. The boy was sent to Utumpornpisai hospital, but did not survive.

The victim was identified as Suriyakarn Pagun, nicknamed Potter. He was 3 year old.

After investigating Ms.Tunyatorn Boonma, 27, the victim’s mother, it is revealed that the school had picked up her son in a truck to go to school like normal at 07.00 am. The school ?bus? was in fact a converted pickup truck, she added.

Her son was asleep in the small space at the back of the car and nobody noticed he was missing until 15.00 pm. The owner of the car rushed over and discovered Potter who had turned dark green and had torn the buttons off of his shirt. He was rushed to the hospital, but he was already dead.

His body was sent from Utumpornpisai hospital to Sisaket hospital for an autopsy. The owner of the school had contacted Potter’s mother and informed her that they are entirely responsible for the incident.

Pol. Col. Bundit Potisarn, director of the Utumpornpisai police station, revealed that the roofed pickup truck belonged to a school teacher, carrying 10 students. Potter was a small child so he was put in the small area behind the driver. When they arrived at the school, the teacher got all the kids off the back and locked the door, forgetting that Potter was asleep in the front portion of the vehicle.

Officers have pressed charges of negligence.

The teacher has not been questioned since she is still in shock, but she has informed the school that she will be responsible for everything. The witnesses have been questioned and the teacher will be summoned for questioning soon.

This shocking accident comes of the heels of another shocking incident on 3 April, where a kindergarten teacher in Samut Prakan province left a little 3 year old girl in the school van for 4 hours. She spent 14 days in the ICU and eventually lost her life. The teacher is now charged and will be prosecuted.

(15 May) Silpakorn student shot herself to death in Nakhon Pathom province after suffering from what her father described as stress related to her courseworks.

Around 11.00 today,
Nakhon Pathom police received reports of a suicide by gunshot at a local
grocery store in Nakhon Pathom. Police arrived at the scene
along with recue foundation workers and doctor on call from Nakhonchaisri
Hospital.

The incident took place in the victim′s  , bedroom above the grocery store. She was wearing a pink shirt
and denim shorts, with a bullet wound on her temple, sitting against the wall.
2 bullet shells were found near the
body and the gun was taken in as evidence.

The victim, identified as Ms. Wiral Yimlamaie, 22, was a computer
engineering student at Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom.

Ms.
Daongam Yimlamai, 39, mother of the deceased, revealed to the police that
before the incident, she was at the shop and her daughter came down to help like normal, but she looked as if she had something on her mind. She began walking
in circles but Ms. Daongam didn’t think anything of it.

Her daughter
then reportedly walked up to the bedroom and she heard 2
gunshots. She was greatly alarmed and ran upstairs to discover her daughter
had committed suicide.

Mr.Somchai Yimlamai, 46, father of the deceased, informed police that
he was not home during the incident since he had driven out to the rice
fields. He received a phone call from his wife informing him of his daughter’s
suicide and he hurried home.

He added that his daughter was a third
year engineering student at Silpakorn University. Lately, she had been
complaining about school a lot and informed him that she was feeling stressed
and pressured. He told her it was okay for her to suspend her education and
just come help out at the store.

She had been taking medication to
suppress her stress, Ms. Wiral′s father said..

Mr.Somchai also said
that 2 days before the suicide, his daughter approached him and told him that
she was worried she would disappoint him and her mother, fearing they would be
ashamed if she could not graduate from university. He then started to spend
more time with his daughter because he was getting worried about
her mental state but he never
imagined she could kill herself.

Investigations will take place to determine whether the
suicide was from stress or from side effects of the medication she was taking,
which may have caused hallucination.

She was also on diet pills which
may have caused the stress as well, police added. The
parents will be questioned again to determine the cause of death.

(15 May) Earlier today, Mr.Pichit Gliagutan, head of Sawangrojtummasataan rescue foundation, received reports of a large python laying numerous eggs at the roots of a tree in a cassava plantation in Chonburi province.

The rescue team found many python
eggs near a tree stump in the plantation, but did not immediately see the
python. After a 20 minute search, the 3 meter long python, which weighed 40
kgs, revealed itself and was caught by the team along with 19 python eggs.
They were all released back to the wild in a secluded forest.

Locals who were aware of this incident came to see the snake and its eggs, interpreting the number of the eggs as a lucky lottery number.