Community 14-Year-Old Boy Takes Own Life After Losing Grandfather’s Savings to Online Scam

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

A 14-year-old boy has taken his own life in Chachoengsao province after reportedly being deceived by online scammers, resulting in the loss of several hundred thousand baht from his grandfather’s savings. The event occurred on the evening of 31 May and has left the local community in deep shock.

 

The young victim, identified only as “A” for privacy reasons, was found dead beneath his family’s stilt house in Khlong Khuean district with a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities confirmed he had used a firearm to end his life. According to reports, the boy was under intense emotional stress after the scam and feared disappointing his family.

 

The incident was reported to police at 19:00 by Pol. Lt. Supanya Phetthongkliang of Khlong Khuean Police Station. Rescue workers were dispatched to the scene, where the boy’s lifeless body was discovered. His father, referred to as “Mr. B”, 39, had attempted to resuscitate him after locating him in a nearby garden area, approximately 700–800 metres from the family home.

 

According to Mr. B, the family was first alerted when a friend’s father called to say the boy had sent a suicide video. He rushed home, asking the boy’s grandfather to check if the firearm kept in the house was still there, it was missing. Guided by the video, Mr. B followed clues to his son’s location, where he found the boy’s phone by a coconut tree and moments later, saw his son’s body partially submerged in water.

 

Desperately, Mr. B retrieved his son and tried to revive him by performing CPR and carrying him over his shoulder to drain the water, but the attempt was in vain due to excessive blood loss.

 

He recounted that his son had previously admitted to being tricked by scammers into transferring large sums of money. Upon closer inspection, the family discovered that the boy had first transferred funds from his grandfather’s account into his own before forwarding them to the scammers, a detail that deeply upset the family. This revelation is believed to have played a critical role in the boy’s deteriorating mental state.

 

A friend of the deceased shared that during a video call earlier that day, the boy had expressed suicidal thoughts and asked for the conversation to be recorded and sent to his mother. The friend said they didn’t believe he was serious at the time but complied with the request nonetheless.

 

Police have launched an investigation into the scam and are reviewing the digital trail left by the victim. Meanwhile, grief-stricken family members are calling for greater awareness of online fraud and its devastating psychological impact, especially on vulnerable youth.

 

If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai) or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress or depression. Seek out help.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-06-02.

 

 

 

 

[Georgealbert]