National police chief to visit Kanchanaburi to follow up probe into death of 7-year-old

The national police chief, Pol. Gen. Kitrat Phanphet, is scheduled to travel to Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi province today to follow up on the investigation into the death of a 7-year-old girl, Nong Ar-ngoon, who was found dead in a bamboo grove on June 1 after she was reported to have been missing from home for three days.

More than 30 people, including the victim’s relatives, monks, construction workers and neighbours, have been questioned by police, but no charges have been filed.

Pol. Lt-Gen. Phisit Tanprasert, commissioner of the Region 7 Provincial Police Bureau, said that the girl was initially assumed to have died from respiratory and circulatory failures, but forensic officers have not found any traces on her body that would suggest that she was assaulted, including sexually, because the victim’s body was decomposed and had been bitten by some wild animals when it was found.

He also said that police investigators have encountered a language barrier, because residents in the victim’s neighbourhood are mostly ethnic Mon people.

In an attempt to unravel the mystery, police investigators have retraced three possible routes from the victim’s house to the bamboo grove where she was found, to determine which is the most plausible route used by the victim or her assailants.

Yesterday, Sangkhla Buri police questioned the victim’s mother and four monks from a monastery in the community. The owner of a grocery shop in the community and a motor tricycle driver were also questioned and had their fingerprints and DNA samples taken.