Neighbour Confesses to Murdering 7 Year-old Boy in Chiang Rai

The neighbour of a seven-year-old boy in Chiang Rai province has been arrested and has reportedly confessed to killing the boy because he could not tolerate his mischief.

The man hunt for the suspect began a week ago Saturday, when the young boy, Thanachot Pangruean, went missing from his house. The following day his dead body was found with in a local forested area about 1.5 Kilometers away from his home.

The alleged murderer was identified as Mr Sinchai Kasetsophaphan, aged around 30. The suspect, who lived with his brother, had left the house on Monday. The house of the victim is around 150 metres from the house of the suspect’s brother.

On Friday night, locals saw him returning to the village he had left, so they alerted police.

At Chiang Rai’s Wiang Chiang Rung Police Station, Mr Sinchai confessed that he had killed the boy to avenge his naughty behaviour.

The man said that Thanachot had annoyed him several times. The boy had allegedly tore his mattress, broken his toy cars, and even eaten his dragon fruit.

On Jan 16, he said he had asked the boy to join him shooting birds with a slingshot. However, Thanachot was unskilled with the slingshot and accidentally shot Sinchai.

In rage, Sinchai asked the boy to stand still. He found a hoe and pieces of wood nearby, and using them to killed the boy. The man faces the charge of premeditated murder and is being held in police custody without bail.