Pregnant Girl Found Hanged In Police Cell

[george]

Pregnant girl found hanged in police cell

Drug suspect, 14, left unchecked with towel

BANGKOK: A pregnant 14-year-old has been found dead in a police cell shortly after being arrested on drug charges for the second time in less than two years.

Phaya Thai police said the girl was found hanging from the bars of her cell by a towel on Wednesday night, after being arrested for dealing methamphetmine pills earlier in the day.

A suicide note written on the inside of a toothpaste box, bidding farewell to her mother and boyfriend, was found nearby, they said.

However, the girl's mother said she did not believe her daughter had taken her own life, questioning from whom she had obtained the towel and why she was allowed to keep it in the cell.

``The towel with which police claim my child hanged herself did not belong to her,'' said 34-year-old Chaweewan Deethae. ``They said my mother [the girl's grandmother] gave her the towel while visiting after the arrest, but she denies doing so.''

The woman also questioned why her daughter had been detained alone in a cell that was beyond the range of closed-circuit TV cameras.

She called for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to ensure justice for her family, saying she had already requested an autopsy be carried out by forensics expert Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunan.

Phaya Thai police chief Pol Col Karoon Klinprayoon said a panel had been established to investigate the girl's death and ascertain whether officers on duty were negligent.

The suicide note had been forwarded to the Scientific Crime Detection Division for examination.

Investigation results were expected in one month.

Pol Lt-Col Smith Nannaruemitr, who was on duty when the girl was found dead, said she had been taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon on a juvenile court warrant after evading arrest in October.

He said the girl had been scheduled for questioning yesterday in the presence of family members, lawyers, prosecutors and social welfare officers.

It was not forbidden for detainees to keep towels in their cells, he said.

The girl was previously arrested with her mother in March 2002 while in possession of 39 speed pills. She was detained at Baan Karuna remand home for one year before being released.

--Bangkok Post 2004-01-23