33-year-old Thai woman, Tukta Thongkasem, was found hanged on Tuesday morning. She had appeared to her family to be depressed after her Swedish husband of nearly nine years travelled back to Sweden some years ago and never returned. Police also speculate that an accident may have occurred near a sand pond which led to the woman’s 12-year-old son Michael drowning.
The tragic death of a 33-year-old Thai woman and her 12-year old Thai Swedish son in Nakhon Ratchasima in a village near Korat was discovered on Tuesday morning and tells a tale of a Thai woman deserted by a Swedish husband.
Police in the Chum Phuang district of Nakhon Ratchasima were called to a tragedy early on Tuesday morning when a 33-year-old Thai woman was found hanged in a workers hut near Ban Tha Sai Sai Village.
The woman, named as Tukta Thongkasem, was found hanged with electric wires. She was wearing a green T-Shirt with floral trousers.
Woman appeared to have committed suicide
While it looks like the woman may have committed suicide, police are investigating the death closely after the body of the woman’s 12-year-old school going son Michael was retrieved later from a nearby sand pond.
The sand pond is reported to be situated 10 km from the woman’s home. Her body was found in a nearby worker’s hut.
Police investigating the deaths suspect that the woman may have driven there with her son on her motorbike and climbed over a fence to access the area.
It is understood that investigating officers found a thorn on the woman’s right-hand wrist.
Tragedy unearthed by workers returning to work early on Tuesday morning who alerted police
The tragedy was discovered on Tuesday morning when workers arrived at the worksite and found the woman hanging from a beam in one of the shelters.
Police Colonel Wichai Narong of Chum Phuang police station led officers at the scene and later briefed the press.
A search party of workers and police found two yellow sandals belonging to the woman’s 12-year-old son at the edge of the pond.
They also found slide marks near where it is believed the woman’s son fell into the water placed which filled a sandpit covering an area of approximately 5 rai.
Police theorise that mother and son may have been playing which led to the boy falling in
Police are theorising that the boy and his mother may have been playing and teasing with each other leading to the tragic accident.
The boy’s body was located hours later by volunteers from a nearby rescue centre. It was located 20 metres from the point of entry and at the bottom of the artificial lake or pond.
Police at the scene interviewed the woman’s mother and father, 61-year-old Mr Prasan Thongkasem and his 52-year-old wife, Wanida Thongkasem.
They told police that in the last month, they had moved to another village to take up work at a relative’s home and had left their daughter alone with her son.
Family members reported to police that the woman was depressed after her Swedish husband departed
Mr Prasan revealed that his daughter appeared to be suffering from acute depression.
Her son was Swedish Thai and was studying at grade 6 in school. The boy’s father was a 52-year-old Swedish man named Thomas who had lived with her for nearly 9 years before returning to Sweden three or four years ago.
Her foreign husband did not return but maintained intermittent contact with Tukta and his son. However, he did not send the woman any financial assistance or support.
Relatives say that the woman and her son were inseparable but she often talked about dying
Police also spoke to another 61-year-old relative of the woman named Uthai who told them that her niece often talked about wanting to die and appeared to sometimes lack the will to live.
She, along with the dead woman’s mother and father, told police that the mother and son were inseparable.
Police are continuing their investigation into the two deaths while relatives are preparing to take the two bodies to perform traditional funeral rites.
Further reading:
Australian man’s heartbreak cut off from his Thai wife – begs to be included on repatriation flights
Businessman murders wife, commits suicide in Bangkok over trade downturn and money issues
Finn kidnaps stepdaughter in Khon Kaen for the noblest of reasons – police say no further action
Aussie with Thai wife arrested in Chachoengsao on sex abuse of a minor charge in New South Wales
