Mother Pleads with Paveena for Help Finding Biological Child Swapped by Caregiver for Three Years

At 2:00 PM on May 7, 2025, at Bang Lamung Police Station, Paveena Hongskul of the Paveena Hongskul Foundation for Children and Women, accompanied by Janchira Thaibandit from Chachoengsao Provincial Police Region, brought Joy (pseudonym), age 24, to meet Lt. Col. Sarawut Nuchanatro, Bang Lamung Police Chief, to request help locating her biological 3-year-old daughter. The child was placed with a caregiver named Vichuda, or "Som," age 32, from birth. Som allegedly swapped the biological child and returned a different child to Joy when the girl was just 5 months old. Police have arrested Som, who was sentenced to imprisonment at the lower court and later released on bail pending appeal. However, Joy remains unaware of her biological daughter's whereabouts. Som has remained silent about the child's location, claiming a Myanmar couple took the child away. Joy's biological mother, an individual known as "Ann," recently contacted Joy asking what to do next, prompting a request for police investigation.

Joy recounted that in 2022, she became pregnant unplanned and had a conflict with her boyfriend, so they separated. Wanting to keep it from her family, she consulted a friend who introduced her to Som, who lived in a rental room with her husband and four children in Bang Lamung, Chachoengsao. Som claimed to love children and agreed to adopt Joy's daughter. Joy moved in with Som for about 20 days and gave birth on October 6, 2022. Initially wanting to give the child up for adoption, Joy agreed to pay Som 8,000 baht monthly for childcare while she worked in construction in Chachoengsao, living at the work site.

After one month, Som told Joy that a Myanmar couple wanted to raise an infant (as they had no biological children) and offered 20,000 baht, but Joy refused. She continued paying Som for childcare and visited occasionally. When the child turned 5 months old on March 1, 2023, Som suddenly brought the baby to Joy, claiming it was temporary, but never returned. Joy then left the child with her mother in Chachachoengsao before resuming work.

Paveena stated that she has coordinated with Maj. Gen. Ponphan Vongmanetest, Chachoengsao Provincial Police Commander, and assigned Lt. Col. Sarawut to urgently pursue two leads: locating the Myanmar couple Som claimed gave the child to, and finding "Ann," the woman who contacted Joy claiming to be the child's biological mother. If evidence confirms the child was sold, it would constitute human trafficking charges against the Myanmar couple. Most recently, Ann called Joy asking what to do next, prompting a request for police investigation into the facts.