Man charged in shooting death of nine-year-old schoolboy
A 38-year-old Thai man was arrested on Wednesday night for allegedly shooting dead a nine-year-old boy and burying his body in a hillside wooded area in tambon Bung Nakhon in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin district.
Third grader Chalermchai Jopratha from Ban Phraek Takhro, was reported missing on March 10. He was found on Wednesday morning in a shallow grave covered with a large rock.
Local man Pramook Khosin was arrested and a hunting rifle and eight bullets were seized, said Nong Pluc superintendent Pol Colonel Chaikorn Sriladecho. He has been charged with murder, concealing a body and illegal possession of a hunting rifle and ammunition, police said.
Pramook reportedly admitted that he was hunting in the hill area when he shot at the boy who he mistook as a hornbill.
Pramook told police that when he realised he had shot and killed the boy he dug a shallow grave to hide the body and conceal the crime before returning to work at an ice-selling shop in Pran Buri district.
Chalermchai, one of the five children, was a child Muay Thai fighter who joined boxing matches at local events to earn Bt500 to Bt1,000 to help his poor family.