Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

An 11-year-old autistic boy known for his compulsive habit of eating soil and suffering from extreme obesity has died after nearly a month of hospital treatment. His passing has left his grandparents, who raised him since birth, devastated.

 

The boy, named Phum, from Ban Non Sang in Na Kae District, Nakhon Phanom province, weighed over 150 kilograms and reportedly could not wear regular clothing due to his size. He was diagnosed with autism and exhibited pica, a condition involving the compulsive consumption of non-food items, often crying if he was not allowed to eat soil. Phum lived with his elderly grandparents in poverty while his parents worked in Bangkok.

 

According to family reports, the boy had been admitted to Na Kae Hospital on 25 April before being transferred to Sakon Nakhon Hospital due to the severity of his condition. He succumbed to multiple chronic illnesses at 23:00 on 22 May.

 

His grandfather, Mr Winai Korn Polarachom, 66 and grandmother, Mrs Thanarak Polarachom, 63, said they were informed of Phum’s death late at night. Despite rushing to the hospital, they were unable to see him before he passed.

 

Phum had suffered from several critical health conditions including an enlarged heart, pulmonary oedema, high blood pressure and diabetes. Mrs Thanarak shared that they had emotionally prepared for his passing after doctors warned them of his deteriorating state. “I cried until I had no tears left,” she said.

 

Ms Maneewan Polarachom, 58, the assistant village head and Mr Winai’s sister, noted that she had frequently checked in on Phum and was heartbroken by the number of tubes and machines connected to him during his hospitalisation. Although the family initially considered bringing him home, his mother had asked to wait until the end of the month, a wish that came too late.

 

Related article:

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1358914-appeal-for-11-year-old-thai-boy-weighing-150kg-with-autism-rare-obesity-condition/

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-05-25.

 

 

 

This is a very sad story 😔

Sad because yet another child here deserted by his "parents" and left in the care of grandparents who raised one of those  other "parents" and followed suit by neglect to this one. Those grandparents were not that old and could have provided much better care but history repeats through generations. A month in the hospital and did the "parents" return home during this time?

Off topic conspiracy theory troll post removed.

Two years ago, I was given a month and a half to explore the area around Sakon Nakhon Hospital. I didn’t ask for it. It wasn’t a planned holiday. Most people who find themselves headed to Sakon Nakhon under such circumstances aren’t going to celebrate—they’re facing the very real possibility of saying goodbye to someone they love.

During that time, I came to know the place—and the ICU—intimately. I spoke with other visitors in nearby rooms, all gathered near an enormous parking lot lit at night by solar-powered lights. A strange stillness settles over it after dark, a quiet that speaks louder than words. I loved the two buffalo that wandered freely through the lot—calm, slow-moving reminders that life doesn’t stop, even when yours feels like it’s been put on hold.

From what I saw and felt during those weeks, I believe the absence of Phum’s grandparents at his bedside in his final days was not a sign of neglect or indifference. More likely, it reflected the harsh realities of rural poverty. It’s easy to misread absence as a lack of care, but in places like this, absence often hides a deeper kind of love—one weighed down by distance, by cost, by the sheer burden of survival.

Where life and hardship intersect, compassion requires more than a glance. It calls for understanding.

A merciful release for all concerned.

25 minutes ago, jacnl2000 said:

Two years ago, I was given a month and a half to explore the area around Sakon Nakhon Hospital. I didn’t ask for it. It wasn’t a planned holiday. Most people who find themselves headed to Sakon Nakhon under such circumstances aren’t going to celebrate—they’re facing the very real possibility of saying goodbye to someone they love.

During that time, I came to know the place—and the ICU—intimately. I spoke with other visitors in nearby rooms, all gathered near an enormous parking lot lit at night by solar-powered lights. A strange stillness settles over it after dark, a quiet that speaks louder than words. I loved the two buffalo that wandered freely through the lot—calm, slow-moving reminders that life doesn’t stop, even when yours feels like it’s been put on hold.

From what I saw and felt during those weeks, I believe the absence of Phum’s grandparents at his bedside in his final days was not a sign of neglect or indifference. More likely, it reflected the harsh realities of rural poverty. It’s easy to misread absence as a lack of care, but in places like this, absence often hides a deeper kind of love—one weighed down by distance, by cost, by the sheer burden of survival.

Where life and hardship intersect, compassion requires more than a glance. It calls for understanding.

When you have children, you do what you can to take care of them. Leaving them behind and not seeing them for months at a time is neglect, especially when you leave them with grandparents who are like this, indifferent. They had a job and they failed, along with the parents who failed first by thinking they needed to go elsewhere to work, and spend more money renting instead of staying with the children in a lesser paying job, and having a place to stay free. Most here are in poverty yet some think they can leave and it's a better choice. if you have kids, you stay with them, period.

Very sad.

R.I.P.  young man. 

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

When you have children, you do what you can to take care of them. Leaving them behind and not seeing them for months at a time is neglect, especially when you leave them with grandparents who are like this, indifferent. They had a job and they failed, along with the parents who failed first by thinking they needed to go elsewhere to work, and spend more money renting instead of staying with the children in a lesser paying job, and having a place to stay free. Most here are in poverty yet some think they can leave and it's a better choice. if you have kids, you stay with them, period.

 

Rarely does a newspaper article carry such an emotional weight and mention the names of (grand)parents so openly. There must have been a very good reason for that. Alfred Nobel may have invented dynamite, but I’ll admit I was the one who lit your fuse—my apologies for that. As a father myself, I receive your breath of perspective with warmth.

1 minute ago, jacnl2000 said:

 

Rarely does a newspaper article carry such an emotional weight and mention the names of (grand)parents so openly. There must have been a very good reason for that. Alfred Nobel may have invented dynamite, but I’ll admit I was the one who lit your fuse—my apologies for that. As a father myself, I receive your breath of perspective with warmth.

They always post the names when things are facts. They don't name those who are charged with crimes because they might not be guilty. These are obviously guilty. We can only go by what's written, and it seems to be enough. Letting an 11 year old, especially with autism, get to this weight shows a complete lack of care. Many children are "shut up" by giving them sweets and snacks, instead of talking to them when they're a little antsy. It teaches that food is a gift for behaving, and that's how so many get way overweight, and keep it into adulthood. That the parents are elsewhere while grandma is taking care of the children is something that Thailand surpasses all other countries in. And this is the result.

RIP

3 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

When you have children, you do what you can to take care of them. Leaving them behind and not seeing them for months at a time is neglect, especially when you leave them with grandparents who are like this, indifferent. They had a job and they failed, along with the parents who failed first by thinking they needed to go elsewhere to work, and spend more money renting instead of staying with the children in a lesser paying job, and having a place to stay free. Most here are in poverty yet some think they can leave and it's a better choice. if you have kids, you stay with them, period.

What a very entitled opinion.

Maybe you have choices but a lot of poor people don't have that option.

Maybe you do fit better in the US,go!

 

6 minutes ago, jvs said:

What a very entitled opinion.

Maybe you have choices but a lot of poor people don't have that option.

Maybe you do fit better in the US,go!

 

Everyone has choices. If you want to have children, it's your job to raise them. If you can't afford them, you don't have any. If they come "by accident", you do what you can to raise and protect them, period. No excuses. There are thousands of poor people in all countries, so using Thailand as an excuse doesn't fly. Thailand has more children raised by grandmas than any other country, and many other countries are just like Thailand or much poorer. Laos next door has only about 4% of children raised by grandparents, while Thailand has over 35%. It isn't my opinion . It's how it is.

26 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

They always post the names when things are facts. They don't name those who are charged with crimes because they might not be guilty. These are obviously guilty. We can only go by what's written, and it seems to be enough. Letting an 11 year old, especially with autism, get to this weight shows a complete lack of care. Many children are "shut up" by giving them sweets and snacks, instead of talking to them when they're a little antsy. It teaches that food is a gift for behaving, and that's how so many get way overweight, and keep it into adulthood. That the parents are elsewhere while grandma is taking care of the children is something that Thailand surpasses all other countries in. And this is the result.

 

You are unreasonable with your finger pointing and moral judgement.

Patients like this are uncontrollable unless heavily medicated and/or restrained.

This was an autistic child with pica. It is  next to impossible to stop these  people from eating anything and everything. They must be supervised 24/7.  You judge the grandparents who were struggling just to survive. They were living in poverty. Their  attention was given to basic survival first. It is exhausting to surveille an autistic child. The outbursts, the temper tantrum etc, wear people out.

This was one very  disturbed subject, and it is unlikely that you would have done any better.

1 minute ago, Patong2021 said:

 

You are unreasonable with your finger pointing and moral judgement.

Patients like this are uncontrollable unless heavily medicated and/or restrained.

This was an autistic child with pica. It is  next to impossible to stop these  people from eating anything and everything. They must be supervised 24/7.  You judge the grandparents who were struggling just to survive. They were living in poverty. Their  attention was given to basic survival first. It is exhausting to surveille an autistic child. The outbursts, the temper tantrum etc, wear people out.

This was one very  disturbed subject, and it is unlikely that you would have done any better.

I'm just going by facts that are easy to research. I don't make things up and my opinions I don't use wouldn't mean anything. It isn't impossible to stop a child from eating. That';s a parent's job. That so many children grow up obese shows that they aren't doing their jobs. 

 

A child with autism, if that's the definite diagnosis, does have special needs and those needs mean the parents should be around, and that's also their job. That they chose to leave to work elsewhere and not see their child in the hospital is all anyone needs to know. That a child with autism was left with unqualified caretakers also shows a lack of concern. Special needs children are a lot hard to take care of, but shirking your responsibility only shows cowardice. 

 

If the grandparents were struggling to survive, you don't put another burden on them. You take care of your child in person, working locally. You have no idea just how many just take off to other cities here in Thailand when children are born. It's millions. And there are no excuses as in Thailand, there are families that all live in one house, sharing everything. 

 

When you go to a big city to work, you make  maybe an  extra 200 baht a day, and that goes to rent, so staying home with your kids and working locally is a much better and logical choice. I've raised 5 children, and still one now, at 68, mostly by myself, so taking care of children is also why I'm still living in Thailand, until we can leave. If I had a special needs child, it would be a child I would take care of, because that's my job.

On 5/25/2025 at 4:03 AM, Georgealbert said:

known for his compulsive habit of eating soil

Is that really what made him obese? I think soil is not alot of calories

51 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

They don't name those who are charged with crimes because they might not be guilty.

I beg to differ!

11 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Is that really what made him obese? I think soil is not alot of calories

It was by appeasing him and giving him sweets and snacks, Letting him overeat thinking it will calm him down. You see this many times all over. My next door neighbor has a son who's twice the size of a same aged boy . He always was eating snacks, along with what was made for meals at home. He will surely have major problems when he hits adulthood unless he takes stock of himself and chooses a healthier lifestyle. This is from AI but it's spot on.............Many people affected by autism experience what we call hyperphagia. This is an intense desire to eat that goes beyond true hunger. Given unchecked access to food, someone with hyperphagia may eat almost constantly. ................It's the caretakers job to divert attention away from eating constantly. .

Off topic post asking personal details and all replies have been removed.

 

Rule 31. You will not publicly discuss other members or post any member's personal information.

 

rip young boy ; hope you get better next life