Six-Month-Old Infant Dies Under Suspicious Circumstances

At 6 p.m. on September 23, police from Thung Song Hong Station received a report of an infant's death near the entrance to Chaeng Watthana Housing estate on Chaeng Watthana Soi 14, Thung Song Hong subdistrict, Lat Krabang district. Officers, investigators, Chulalongkorn Hospital physicians, forensic specialists, and personnel from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation responded to the scene on the roadside at the end of Chaeng Watthana Soi 14, where they found a six-month-old male infant lying on an ambulance stretcher. The child's parents, both 26 years old, were sitting beside him crying. Another couple was also present—the caregivers the parents had hired.

The mother explained that she and her boyfriend work in the Chaeng Watthana Soi 10 area. After giving birth, she cared for her son herself during the first two to three months of her maternity leave. When she returned to work, she posted online seeking a part-time caregiver. Several people responded, and she eventually hired the caregiver in question. Before hiring, she discussed the arrangement and asked questions; the caregiver had recently given birth to her own child and seemed capable of providing good care. They agreed on a monthly rate of 6,000 baht. Every morning at 8 a.m., the mother would drop off her son at the caregiver's flat in the housing estate and pick him up between 3 and 4 p.m. after work.

Over the three months the child was in care, whenever the mother had a free moment at work, she would ask how her son was doing. There were no signs of trouble—the caregiver only reported that the boy liked to roll around and sleep face-down, and sent photos. About a month ago, the caregiver asked for a raise to 7,000 baht, which the mother agreed to without hesitation.

This afternoon at around 4 p.m., the caregiver called to say the infant was not breathing. The mother rushed from work to find the caregiver performing chest compressions. The child had already turned blue. She immediately picked him up and ran downstairs to wait for an ambulance the caregiver had called; by the time it arrived, it was too late. The mother said she is still confused about what happened and cannot say much more. She is not entirely convinced by the caregiver's account but cannot accuse her without proof, and is waiting for the autopsy results.

When asked why she did not leave her son with relatives, the mother said she wanted to be close to him and to see him when she returned from work. She never imagined something like this would happen.

The caregiver stated she had looked after the boy for approximately three to four months after the parents hired her because they lacked the time. She described the child as normally obedient, though the mother had changed caregivers several times before and had mentioned he was fussy and mischievous. The caregiver said she also cares for one other child and that the boy was generally well-behaved, though he would cry at bedtime.

Before the incident, the caregiver was with her boyfriend. Around 2 p.m., the boy was asleep, and she also lay down to nap while the boyfriend went out to buy food. When he returned and entered the room, he noticed the boy sleeping face-down with a towel wrapped around his neck and torso. He quickly pulled the towel away and noticed the child had soiled the mattress. As he turned the boy over, he saw the infant had turned pale, was unresponsive, and was not breathing. He immediately called 1669 to request an ambulance and began performing basic life support—chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. During resuscitation, large amounts of nasal fluid flowed out. The child was subsequently pronounced dead.