Children Abductions Khon Kaen

[billd766]

My wife told me about this last week and I have no way of knowing if it is true or false.

I live in a moo ban in the central region and only 4 people will deliver or collect my son at kindergarten, me, my wife, her friend or her friends husband as their little girl goes to the same kindergarten. At home we live off the road and there is always at least one adult not far from the children.

Am I concerned?

Too right I am and I always will be.

To Isaanresting.

Catch them but don't hang them high.

Give them to the families to deal with or smash kneecaps and elbows.

I am not an agressive person BUT offences against children ar the worst things in the world.

Children trust us and we should NEVER betray that trust.

[hgma]

i live in Nongkhai

my son...2,5 goes to school in NongKhai

ALL the schools have been officialy visited and informed by police officers.

Suspect poster included.

what ever the truth is.........I, sorry my wife and I ,are scared to death.!!!!

The "problem" is that in any attempt to ,socalled kidnap my son, i for sure will %$@^& the first mother@#$^^ who wants to play dumb.

and thats a fact

[swanks]

A bit off topic but not too much - a few weeks back ITV aired a long documentary here in Thailand about the activities of organised gangs that routinely cruise around Isaan and elsewhere and pick up stray dogs (often with rightful owners) and transport them alive - illegally - to Vietnam where dog meat is more expensive than pork.

Apparently there are scores of these pick-ups with cages on the back operated by criminal gangs. It's an illegal export trade.

I've been here sixteen years and up until the time of this programme didn't imagine that such a thing could happen here.

Nothing surprises me now!

They should come to Patts.

They can have that barking bugger on Jomtien plaza for free! In fact I'll help them corner the little sod!

The rest of the mutts could do with a thinning out as well !

Er...

Do they want any cats as well?

I still think the stories about the kids are far fetched though .

( I have a 6 month old , by the way )

It is natural and right for a person to fear for the well being of there child and Thai's are just the same as westerners in that way.

The story's exist and the Thai newspapers are picking up on them .

The Thais also believed traditionally that ghosts steal and murder children and the stolen eye story appears in a lot of there comic books!

As I wrote before , child organs are very limited in there use for transplants but I can believe that child abduction might take place for other purposes though .

It does seem a bit far fetched that this is wholesale and far spread as logically , every abduction would drastically increase the chances of being caught .If this problem has been around for many , many years as the Thais believe then it would have come to light by now and not simmered under the service.

One of the problems here is the concept that 'if it's in a newspaper it must be true' .

That is as false here as the gutter press in the west's attempts to keep our interests are in our home countries!

A lot of reporters are just tarts , to be honist , and have no ethics when it comes to getting a story.

One interesting idea might be to ask the BM's here if they have PERSONALY witnessed or known this sort of thing to happen .

I am not talking about 'a friend of a friend' story , but actually knowing someone who has suffered a loss.

I believe kidnapping might happen in a very small scale .

I still don't believe it is for transplantation .

I still think this is a Thai urban myth but please say if you KNOW ( not hearsay ) that this problem exists.

On a side note , I tend to write as I speak so calling someone 'chap' is not intended to be the least offensive!

[swanks]

I often read criticism on this site of Thais for their alleged inability to think critically, etc. Sad to see that there are apparently quite a few farangs similarly impaired.

To those who believe this malarkey:

1. Do you really think that dozens if not hundreds of children have been kidnapped and left with organs missing in Thailand, and yet Thai and International papers feel fit not to report on that??

2. Does it ever occur to you that when someone at your school, or the police, or other officials here tell you that there have been kidnappings or attempts that they too may be basing that on the same rumors that everyone else is hearing??

Sure, keep an eye on your kids, but overreacting and believing and passing along every rumor you hear, no matter how far-fetched, is irresponsible and just plain stupid.

BTW, did you hear that Proctor and Gamble give a percentage of their money to satanic groups? I decided to strike this sentence. It was a bit of sarcasm, but in retrospect I think that some of the people who believe this organ harvesting idiocy might restart the P&G boycott.

P.S. The Free Republic web site is about as reliable a source of news as the Weekly World News.

A voice of reason chap . Thank you !

Did you hear about the escaped convicts who were stopping cars in remote paths and eating the occupants?

One man escaped with two of the attackers fingers caught in his roof rack!

Edited March 22, 2007 by swanks

[leisurely]

Very similar thread running in the Issan forum. I have not yet seen a first hand acount of any attempts to lift a child, it seems to be all friends of friends. Poor do's if you are a parent, it will make you suspicious of everyone (I am anyway), and worried about your child's wherabouts when they are not under your nose.

[Shah Jahan]

Happening too in Pai up here in the North - White Van targeting people on motorbikes in desolate areas or stopping along the highway and snatching a stray kid or adult. Not sure what is being done.

bit fishy considering that there are only two ways in and out of Pai. You would think that they would be able to spot the vans leaving the area. at the army checkpoints. unless of course they have been instructed 'not' to spot the vans.

[Puwa]

What a ridiculous load of cr@p this is. Are we supposed to believe that a fleet of white vans has been dispatched all throughout the country--Cha-am, Pai, throughout Isaan, Chiang Mai--in a coordinated wave of child snatchings? If there are real documented cases, with names and places and police reports and police statements, then let's see them and I will be happy to admit that I am wrong.

Yes children are trafficked for begging, work, sex, and illegal adoption--but this is usually a consensual arrangement with their relatives, not random abduction of children in public.

There is absolutely no reason why a journalist of any type would ignore this story if it were true. It would sell a ton of papers. Have the Thai papers ever shied away from gruesome, sordid, sensationalist stories before? The idea that a media-big business conspiracy is suppressing the truth is too juvenile to warrant a response. I remember a case about 7 or 8 years ago when a Thai-Farang couple in Bangkok had their baby briefly kidnapped by their disgruntled maid. It was all over the papers and TV, and the police tracked her down in like 36 hours.

Forget the organ-harvesting theory. That can only be done by well equipped professionals in an aseptic environment, not in the back of a van (or, in another popular version of the tale, in a hotel bathtub).

By the way, I have a young son, and as a matter of habit am always watching out for dangerous situations. Frankly I am much more concerned about some sick pedophile--Thai or farang--showing up to work at his school than about some unsubstantiated horror-fantasy of white vans and missing kidneys.

[jomama]

Catch them and hang them high.

No hang the posters high -- those who have the temerity to report actual information that was told to them by real people on the ground, not just government statements and spotty, typically fragmented and often conflicting, news reports.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit that this is happening.

After 15 years in Thailand I have moved to China...and that wasn't easy at my age. I voted with my feet. I don't know why you folks continue to tolerate the abuse that is given you...and then buy into the deal and apologize for all of the things that Thai people do..way beyond me.

Shoot the messenger. Well, perhaps you are Thai after all.

[sabaijai]

It seems obvious to me that this "story" is not being covered in the mainstream press because it is a figment of a wild and disturbed imagination.

The problem is that the rumors have been going around Thailand since several weeks. They are not without precedent. 30 years ago, in a time of similar social and political turmoil abductions of children did happen.

See post #22 ('none of these organ theft stories are real and instead sprout up as a result of the real economic and social turmoil people in developing countries are suffering from.')

Still awaiting direct corroboration ...

[Tarragona]

Catch them and hang them high.

No hang the posters high -- those who have the temerity to report actual information that was told to them by real people on the ground.

Very little could be actual information though.

When we arrived in the village in Ubon once, mother-in-law made us go immediately to the temple to announce our arrival because there was a ghost on the prowl (phi pop, I think - is that the one that eats entrails). The story was corroborated by a number of neighbours who were present at the time. An old woman had been found dead with her insides pulled out and eaten, and there had been at least 2 or 3 other victims, a bit vague though about which son of Mae Chan or maybe Mae Joy had been eaten. No-one present had seen any of the victims themselves but it was known who had, and someone had actually seen the ghost around.

These were ordinary villagers, real people on the ground, and they weren't lying - they believed every word. A bit later when father-in-law was around, he said what a load of crap. An aunt who is a bit of a phu yai in the village thought it was a great story, but added the only person in the village who'd died was the old lady and her body had no wounds of any kind and one of the other supposed victims had been in to buy something from her that morning

I think there could well be something in the kidnapping stories but I really don't believe in the more sensational aspects.

[sceadugenga]

What a ridiculous load of cr@p this is. Are we supposed to believe that a fleet of white vans has been dispatched all throughout the country--Cha-am, Pai, throughout Isaan, Chiang Mai--in a coordinated wave of child snatchings? If there are real documented cases, with names and places and police reports and police statements, then let's see them and I will be happy to admit that I am wrong.

Yes children are trafficked for begging, work, sex, and illegal adoption--but this is usually a consensual arrangement with their relatives, not random abduction of children in public.

There is absolutely no reason why a journalist of any type would ignore this story if it were true. It would sell a ton of papers. Have the Thai papers ever shied away from gruesome, sordid, sensationalist stories before? The idea that a media-big business conspiracy is suppressing the truth is too juvenile to warrant a response. I remember a case about 7 or 8 years ago when a Thai-Farang couple in Bangkok had their baby briefly kidnapped by their disgruntled maid. It was all over the papers and TV, and the police tracked her down in like 36 hours.

Forget the organ-harvesting theory. That can only be done by well equipped professionals in an aseptic environment, not in the back of a van (or, in another popular version of the tale, in a hotel bathtub).

By the way, I have a young son, and as a matter of habit am always watching out for dangerous situations. Frankly I am much more concerned about some sick pedophile--Thai or farang--showing up to work at his school than about some unsubstantiated horror-fantasy of white vans and missing kidneys.

Puwa, you da man.

[nikster]

It seems obvious to me that this "story" is not being covered in the mainstream press because it is a figment of a wild and disturbed imagination. The original "press release" contains not a single confirmable event, no dates, no names, no attributable quotes. Honestly this story wouldn't even cut it on The Onion!

well there's a lot of rumors that go around in small villages such as Pai.

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Those 5 have apparently gone missing in the neighboring village. Don't you think it would be a little bit hard to make something like that up - information spreads like the wind in small villages, if it was fake we would know within the hour - guaranteed.

Organ harvesting sounds far-fetched to me - maybe they just maim and use as beggars? Unbelievable as it is, such has happened many times in the past in Thailand. Regardless, if my children get abducted I don't really need to know more, like what purpose. I want to catch them and stop them.

[A_Traveller]

well there's a lot of rumors that go around in small villages such as Pai.

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Forgive me but would you be so kind as to provide further substantiation for this, so that this can be verified.

Regards

[tijnebijn]

There are people who abduct children,no doubt about that.Last week here in Chiangdao police arrested a thai couple trying to run away...Why?Cause they tried to kidnap a 9 year old girl,they took her from behind,to take her in their minifan(white),so maybe there is the connection with Pai.The wife of the Obetoh,who works for my wife,told her last week.She could not say more that the police could take them(luckily)after the girl managed to scream and relatives came to look whats up.They tried to run,but unsuccesfully At last some justice.

I have in the past repeatedly heard about stories like this,there are people who like the quick money to sell them,like people who sell drugs,so everybody just keep your eyes open and don't think these things aren't true,they are.

[sabaijai]

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Tell us the source of this 'obvious fact' and I will do some fact-checking myself.

[Shah Jahan]

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Tell us the source of this 'obvious fact' and I will do some fact-checking myself.

last night in Pai the police set up a roadblock on the outskirts and were checking cars, trucks and vans. They shined their flashlights on the floor and said they were looking for 'missing people'

everything else can be considered hersey, but this is a fact

[dragonfly94]

I thought urban myth untiil wife told me about it for sure in her village. One kid was nabbed two weeks ago and since old people have been gone after. Everyone seems to know about it up country (buri ram) Kids are so scared they are not going anywhere alone even on big buses to and from Bkk in the holidays period.

[qualtrough]

I often read criticism on this site of Thais for their alleged inability to think critically, etc. Sad to see that there are apparently quite a few farangs similarly impaired.

To those who believe this malarkey:

1. Do you really think that dozens if not hundreds of children have been kidnapped and left with organs missing in Thailand, and yet Thai and International papers feel fit not to report on that??

2. Does it ever occur to you that when someone at your school, or the police, or other officials here tell you that there have been kidnappings or attempts that they too may be basing that on the same rumors that everyone else is hearing??

Sure, keep an eye on your kids, but overreacting and believing and passing along every rumor you hear, no matter how far-fetched, is irresponsible and just plain stupid.

BTW, did you hear that Proctor and Gamble give a percentage of their money to satanic groups? I decided to strike this sentence. It was a bit of sarcasm, but in retrospect I think that some of the people who believe this organ harvesting idiocy might restart the P&G boycott.

P.S. The Free Republic web site is about as reliable a source of news as the Weekly World News.

A voice of reason chap . Thank you !

Did you hear about the escaped convicts who were stopping cars in remote paths and eating the occupants?

One man escaped with two of the attackers fingers caught in his roof rack!

Where I come from the version has it that a lunatic with a hook for a hand escaped from a mental hospital. It was announced on the radio. A couple necking in a car heard that and the girl insisted her boyfriend bring her home pronto. When they got home her boyfriend got out to let her out--and there was a hook hanging from the handle!

Amusing but very sad to see real, live hysteria here on TV. Some really credulous characters. They probably don't know what that word means, so here it is:

Definition of credulous (adjective)

Inclined to believe anything; easily imposed upon; naive; gullible; deceivable

My favorite post is the guy who has moved to China (out of the frying pan and into the fire!) and cites the non-fact of these kidnappings as one of the reasons he is glad he did so.

[chevykanteve]

Hi Puwa,

Yep, it's all cr@p as you say. The Thai-language-police wanted posters, posted everywhere, are written by the cops for kix, because they have nothing better to do. Last Sunday's front-page article in Thailand's most popular newspaper --Thai Rat-- on kidnappings in north Thailand, was also just the product of the active imagination of the journalist who wrote it. Please note that if you want "names and places and police reports" you won't necessarily find said information in the IHT or similar publications.

The lack of reports on this subject in the English-language BKK press is not unexpected. The BKK (English) press has never been particularly keen on internal events in Northeast Thailand, unless those events pertain to political issues, crops or the weather.

What truly disturbs me, though, is the profound lack of ANY journalism on this subject from the Western press. I wish our revered "foreign correspondents" would refrain from ordering aniother drink in the FCCT and actually GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND DO SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. But, of course, they won't.

What a ridiculous load of cr@p this is. Are we supposed to believe that a fleet of white vans has been dispatched all throughout the country--Cha-am, Pai, throughout Isaan, Chiang Mai--in a coordinated wave of child snatchings? If there are real documented cases, with names and places and police reports and police statements, then let's see them and I will be happy to admit that I am wrong.

Yes children are trafficked for begging, work, sex, and illegal adoption--but this is usually a consensual arrangement with their relatives, not random abduction of children in public.

There is absolutely no reason why a journalist of any type would ignore this story if it were true. It would sell a ton of papers. Have the Thai papers ever shied away from gruesome, sordid, sensationalist stories before? The idea that a media-big business conspiracy is suppressing the truth is too juvenile to warrant a response. I remember a case about 7 or 8 years ago when a Thai-Farang couple in Bangkok had their baby briefly kidnapped by their disgruntled maid. It was all over the papers and TV, and the police tracked her down in like 36 hours.

Forget the organ-harvesting theory. That can only be done by well equipped professionals in an aseptic environment, not in the back of a van (or, in another popular version of the tale, in a hotel bathtub).

By the way, I have a young son, and as a matter of habit am always watching out for dangerous situations. Frankly I am much more concerned about some sick pedophile--Thai or farang--showing up to work at his school than about some unsubstantiated horror-fantasy of white vans and missing kidneys.

[qualtrough]

Hi Puwa,

Yep, it's all cr@p as you say. The Thai-language-police wanted posters, posted everywhere, are written by the cops for kix, because they have nothing better to do. Last Sunday's front-page article in Thailand's most popular newspaper --Thai Rat-- on kidnappings in north Thailand, was also just the product of the active imagination of the journalist who wrote it. Please note that if you want "names and places and police reports" you won't necessarily find said information in the IHT or similar publications.

The lack of reports on this subject in the English-language BKK press is not unexpected. The BKK (English) press has never been particularly keen on internal events in Northeast Thailand, unless those events pertain to political issues, crops or the weather.

What truly disturbs me, though, is the profound lack of ANY journalism on this subject from the Western press. I wish our revered "foreign correspondents" would refrain from ordering aniother drink in the FCCT and actually GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND DO SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. But, of course, they won't.

Masses of children kidnapped and left disemboweled in Isaan, and Western reporters can't be bothered to get off their bar stools at the FCCT and investigate. If you believe that, you ARE truly disturbed.

[chevykanteve]

Hi Puwa,

Yep, it's all cr@p as you say. The Thai-language-police wanted posters, posted everywhere, are written by the cops for kix, because they have nothing better to do. Last Sunday's front-page article in Thailand's most popular newspaper --Thai Rat-- on kidnappings in north Thailand, was also just the product of the active imagination of the journalist who wrote it. Please note that if you want "names and places and police reports" you won't necessarily find said information in the IHT or similar publications.

The lack of reports on this subject in the English-language BKK press is not unexpected. The BKK (English) press has never been particularly keen on internal events in Northeast Thailand, unless those events pertain to political issues, crops or the weather.

What truly disturbs me, though, is the profound lack of ANY journalism on this subject from the Western press. I wish our revered "foreign correspondents" would refrain from ordering aniother drink in the FCCT and actually GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND DO SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. But, of course, they won't.

Masses of children kidnapped and left disemboweled in Isaan, and Western reporters can't be bothered to get off their bar stools at the FCCT and investigate. If you believe that, you ARE truly disturbed.

I don't believe in the "organ theft" scenario. Moreover, the police wanted-posters and the THAI RAT article make no reference to organ theft. The posters/article are about kidnappings. As far as the reporters are concerned, I apologize if that comment has struck a sensitive chord with you. And no, I am not disturbed (name calling will get you nowhere); I'd like to think, however, that I'm not knieve.

[Puwa]

Hi Puwa,

Yep, it's all cr@p as you say. The Thai-language-police wanted posters, posted everywhere, are written by the cops for kix, because they have nothing better to do. Last Sunday's front-page article in Thailand's most popular newspaper --Thai Rat-- on kidnappings in north Thailand, was also just the product of the active imagination of the journalist who wrote it. Please note that if you want "names and places and police reports" you won't necessarily find said information in the IHT or similar publications.

The lack of reports on this subject in the English-language BKK press is not unexpected. The BKK (English) press has never been particularly keen on internal events in Northeast Thailand, unless those events pertain to political issues, crops or the weather.

What truly disturbs me, though, is the profound lack of ANY journalism on this subject from the Western press. I wish our revered "foreign correspondents" would refrain from ordering aniother drink in the FCCT and actually GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND DO SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. But, of course, they won't.

The article I read in Khao Sod, which was on the front page and had a picture of the wanted poster, read something to the effect that "villagers are reporting among themselves that a child was kidnapped." There were no names or dates or anything. Regarding the police posters, I don't put too much credence in the the RTP's investigative prowess. However, I agree that whether or not there is any truth to the reports, the very fact that a great many people are in the grips of murky rumors is newsworthy in itself.

[chevykanteve]

Hi Puwa,

Yep, it's all cr@p as you say. The Thai-language-police wanted posters, posted everywhere, are written by the cops for kix, because they have nothing better to do. Last Sunday's front-page article in Thailand's most popular newspaper --Thai Rat-- on kidnappings in north Thailand, was also just the product of the active imagination of the journalist who wrote it. Please note that if you want "names and places and police reports" you won't necessarily find said information in the IHT or similar publications.

The lack of reports on this subject in the English-language BKK press is not unexpected. The BKK (English) press has never been particularly keen on internal events in Northeast Thailand, unless those events pertain to political issues, crops or the weather.

What truly disturbs me, though, is the profound lack of ANY journalism on this subject from the Western press. I wish our revered "foreign correspondents" would refrain from ordering aniother drink in the FCCT and actually GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND DO SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. But, of course, they won't.

The article I read in Khao Sod, which was on the front page and had a picture of the wanted poster, read something to the effect that "villagers are reporting among themselves that a child was kidnapped." There were no names or dates or anything. Regarding the police posters, I don't put too much credence in the the RTP's investigative prowess. However, I agree that whether or not there is any truth to the reports, the very fact that a great many people are in the grips of murky rumors is newsworthy in itself.

"I don't put too much credence in the the RTP's investigative prowess..." =agreed

"the very fact that a great many people are in the grips of murky rumors is newsworthy in itself..." =agreed again

[Artisi]

YAWN !!!!!

[Artisi]

I heard today from my ex-wife's step-mother's boyfriend's 5th cousin's daughter-in-law that this Easter, Father Christmas will accompany the easter bunny on it's rounds delivering easter eggs, it's true you know.

[sutnyod]

Update from Khon Kaen (5 days ago):

A boy's disappearance raised mayhem with the parents and relatives who (presumably) started rumours about his abduction. The story went everywhere. In the late evening it turned out the boy had abducted himself to a video game shop and forgot the time. Of course everybody was happy to see him back in one piece, but THAT part of the story did not spread so well....

[sabaijai]

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Tell us the source of this 'obvious fact' and I will do some fact-checking myself.

last night in Pai the police set up a roadblock on the outskirts and were checking cars, trucks and vans. They shined their flashlights on the floor and said they were looking for 'missing people'

everything else can be considered hersey, but this is a fact

'Missing people' could refer to fugitives or could also have been an excuse to cover other motives, so for me at least this doesn't tell us much and in no way can be considered a valid support for the rumours. I would like to hear of a source or sources who can be contacted directly and who have had a child taken in the manner described.

[chevykanteve]

But - 5 children missing after being abducted by a white van is ANYTHING BUT a rumor. Such a thing is an obvious fact that anyone who cares to check can verify, it's not some sort of nefarious rumor.

Tell us the source of this 'obvious fact' and I will do some fact-checking myself.

last night in Pai the police set up a roadblock on the outskirts and were checking cars, trucks and vans. They shined their flashlights on the floor and said they were looking for 'missing people'

everything else can be considered hersey, but this is a fact

'Missing people' could refer to fugitives or could also have been an excuse to cover other motives, so for me at least this doesn't tell us much and in no way can be considered a valid support for the rumours. I would like to hear of a source or sources who can be contacted directly and who have had a child taken in the manner described.

I would like to hear of a source or sources who can be contacted directly and who have had a child taken in the manner described.

And then what would you do? Telephone them? Interview them at their home? Give me a break! Who EVER publishes direct contact information concerning kidnap victims or for that matter any victim of serious crime.

[Farma]

I also posted this in the Issan forum.

A story has been published in the Nation today.

Link to the story in the general topics forum http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=112947&hl=

Link to the Nation story http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/26...es_30030240.php

[tsanders]

Sounds like a wind-up to me. If they were harvesting organs / abducting people, I would more likely to believe that Burmese / hill tribe people were being targeted. Less likely chance of being caught. Would the OP post some corroborating links, please?

The tales of abductions are not a windup. People here in my neighborhood in Bangkok do speak constantly about that, and also my wifes relatives in the north. I would like to know very much if this is just a rumor floating around, or if it happens indeed. I guess most people with children would like to know.

Just one hour before reading the thread about obductions my son was telling me how he will not let my daughter-in-law go out alone because of the sick obductions. In the very small village they live in are told of the seriousness of these crimes over the loud speakers. This is a farming area in the north-east and the grousome travelers are showing up in groups covering much of the land. I am in the US and soon to be in Thailand with family and friends and know for sure this is real. Find out who is in a strange vehicle in your area keep you and your neighbors safe. TS