A very tragic piece of news...

[Jockey]

A couple of days ago there was one of these trucks with a loud speaker going about Cha Am. I thought they were advertising something, but was told this tragic story:

Last year there was a group of people in a mini van who stole some children from this area and they have never been found since. Last week a school child disappeared and there is strong suspicion it is the same evil people who have returned. The van with the loud speaker was from the local school warning parents to take care of their kids.

The speculation is these people use the kidnapped children for begging purposes or the sex trade. It's a horrible thought, please forgive me for bringing this to peoples attention, but I think everyone should be aware this type of thing can happen, so we might be extra vigilant.

[PeteC]

Stuff like this scares the hell out of me. It scared me 30 years ago in the States and the practice then was to have your kids finger printed and a record kept locked in your home. What real good this was/is I'm not too sure.

Now here, with my new little girl, my hair just got more grey. Unless you implant them with a homing device the only way is to keep an eye on them all the way up to when they are teenagers, and that means escort to and from school each day and supervised playtime/outings.

Of all the places in Thailand where I would have guessed something like this happening, Cha Am would probably be near the bottom. I guess you can just never tell where and when. Pete

[Guess]

Unless you implant them with a homing device the only way is to keep an eye on them all the way up to when they are teenagers, and that means escort to and from school each day and supervised playtime/outings.
Pete

That is way it will have to go. They fit them on cars and now PCs soon things like cell phones and cameras. Surely your children are more valuable.

We have the technology so lets do it.

The problems I get concerned about is what the arseholes will come up with to get round it.

I have already ready an article on the feasibility of removing a persons eyeball to obtain their retinal ID.

[DawnHRD]

Thank you, Jockey, sincerely, for letting us know about this. I'm usually pretty vigilant about littl'un, but now I'll be watching him like a hawk.

What a truly terrible thing to happen. Poor kids, poor families. Some people deserve to burn in hell for what they do on earth, and whoever stole these children definitely come into that category.

Unlikely though it is, I pray that the perpetrators are caught & the children returned unharmed to their families.

[PeteC]

One thing that wouldn't be as difficult to implement as a homing device insert is an alert system.

The size of Thailand with only 3-4 mobile phone providers could SMS all subscribers within minutes of the police receiving a missing child report. It wouldn't be that hard to set up if they had the motivation. Thailand is a mobile phone society, the message would reach millions within 1 minute, perhaps even with a follow up photo of the child within an hour.

In Thai and English, description, clothing, hair length and any info on the suspected vehicle. The assailants would receive the message also and perhaps do something stupid while fleeing thus alerting police by their suspicious behaviour/driving.

Now the hard part, getting some Thai official to listen and take interest in ideas like this. Pete

[2dandan]

Surely this type of thing would be broadcast on the national news media and be highlighted in the newspapers.

Child kidnap cannot be so widespread and so normal and so accepted in Thailand that it would not be national news etc etc.

If it is - identify a source or article which makes reference to it or makes reference to last years kidnap.

Jockey,

I accept your report is in good faith, but unless it is validated in some way, I find it difficult to accept it is true.

Even if it was not national or International news, it would surely make local news.

So, is there anything there that can be validated.

If there's nothing in the local press, then I would suggest that it's another urban myth.

Worth passing on to keep the vigilance up, but worthless if you intend to present it as facts (or a tragic story)

(Not an attack or flame on you)

[VincentD]

There have been signboards posted on Cha-am beach (but only in Thai language) warning of just such a thing from fifteen years ago. I haven't been to Cha-am for a while, so don't know if they're still there.

Nobody likes child kidnap, but it is more widespread than you think. This is especially so in the very rural villages. It is also one of the things that does not show up in the English-language newspapers.

[Mack111]

So sad to hear.

How can anyone stoop so low to make money!

[Jockey]

Surely this type of thing would be broadcast on the national news media and be highlighted in the newspapers.

Child kidnap cannot be so widespread and so normal and so accepted in Thailand that it would not be national news etc etc.

If it is - identify a source or article which makes reference to it or makes reference to last years kidnap.

Jockey,

I accept your report is in good faith, but unless it is validated in some way, I find it difficult to accept it is true.

Even if it was not national or International news, it would surely make local news.

So, is there anything there that can be validated.

If there's nothing in the local press, then I would suggest that it's another urban myth.

Worth passing on to keep the vigilance up, but worthless if you intend to present it as facts (or a tragic story)

(Not an attack or flame on you)

I understand where your coming from Zdandan. I have had verbal confirmation from various sources in Cha Am and I was told it was on the ITV channel. I have been unable to find anything on the internet or local paper. The abduction (I am told), was in the Kho Yoi area in Phetburi (not Cha Am). I was also told last week there were 2 boys from Bangkok taken 9 and 10 years old.

Sadly these things happen all over the world and become 1-day news, forgotton very quickly. The chances of something like this happening to your child is 1 in so many million so no need for panic, just cautious awareness.

[VincentD]

One thing that wouldn't be as difficult to implement as a homing device insert is an alert system.

There is such a thing as GPS tracking. If need be, there is a company in Thailand doing just this, it is a small body-worn device that can be monitored 24 hours a day in real time to track your kids (or girlfriend, vehicle, whatever...) I do not know how much to subscribe to the service, the website is in Thai.

http://www.simtexsecurity.com/gpstracki ... 20kids.htm

Should anyone avail themselves of this service, do post the details...

[DawnHRD]

Surely this type of thing would be broadcast on the national news media and be highlighted in the newspapers.

Child kidnap cannot be so widespread and so normal and so accepted in Thailand that it would not be national news etc etc.

If it is - identify a source or article which makes reference to it or makes reference to last years kidnap.

Jockey,

I accept your report is in good faith, but unless it is validated in some way, I find it difficult to accept it is true.

Even if it was not national or International news, it would surely make local news.

So, is there anything there that can be validated.

If there's nothing in the local press, then I would suggest that it's another urban myth.

Worth passing on to keep the vigilance up, but worthless if you intend to present it as facts (or a tragic story)

(Not an attack or flame on you)

I understand where your coming from Zdandan. I have had verbal confirmation from various sources in Cha Am and I was told it was on the ITV channel. I have been unable to find anything on the internet or local paper. The abduction (I am told), was in the Kho Yoi area in Phetburi (not Cha Am). I was also told last week there were 2 boys from Bangkok taken 9 and 10 years old.

Sadly these things happen all over the world and become 1-day news, forgotton very quickly. The chances of something like this happening to your child is 1 in so many million so no need for panic, just cautious awareness.

My boyfriend used to tell me about cases like this. He said the kids are often taken up to Bangkok or to places like Pattaya or Phuket to become beggars or "flower kids". According to him, this was a danger that all Thais knew of.

[STEVE G]

I was speaking on the phone to my partner in Nong Ki yesterday and she had heard about this incident in Cha Am area on TV news, so it is more than just a rumour; apparently it’s sadly not an uncommon occurrence in Thailand.

[PeteC]

The other side of this is that this is not the West where more times than not the kids are taken by a nut case, abused and killed. Thus my reference to the USA program years ago to fingerprint your children. Good for identifying a corpse and that's about all.

Here it seems the bastards just kidnap to enslave for financial gain. At least a better chance finding them. Pete

[bozzman101]

vrey scarey thoughts
have been a feww cases here in ireland
moast recent where 2 black guys tried to kid nap a 11-12 yr old boy from his garden luckey he gave one of em a kick and ran like hell to his house where they speeded off in a white van
has any attempts been made on farang /thai comunity
is ir safe for my 1 yr old daughyrt to play in garden with gate shut??or do i put a cam up on house to watch?

[PJG]

This sort of thing has always happened in Thailand. My wife and family never let my daughter (who is now 20) go anywhere out of their sight for fear that she would be kidnapped. I always used to laugh at their overprotection but now I realise that it is a problem that Thais know about but is not publicised.