A 15 year old Burmese girl, who was previously reported missing from her home in Nonthaburi province, refused to return home, claiming that her parents physically abused her.
The Burmese parents, 45 year old Mamat Ye Hinn and 40 year old Asha Bwe, sought help from Thai news agencies on August 12 after their daughter, Bee, disappeared from their Nonthaburi home on July 24 at around 8am.
The couple reported her missing at Bang Si Mueang Police Station but received no leads regarding her whereabouts. They said their daughter had been missing for many days and feared she could be in life-threatening danger.
The Superintendent of Bang Si Mueang Police Station, Somchai Jaeng-dhamma, reported yesterday, August 18, that the missing girl was found at a friend’s home in the central province of Ayutthaya.
Her friend’s family, having seen news reports about her, asked her to contact officers at Bang Si Mueang Police Station. She then travelled to the police station by taxi but was unable to pay the fare and attempted to exchange her mobile phone for the fare, but police later covered the cost.
Somchai told Channel 7 that the girl refused to return home and strongly declined to meet her parents. She claimed her parents forced her to work and physically abused her.
Police officers have since coordinated with the Nonthaburi Provincial Shelter for Children and Families to provide the girl with temporary care while discussions with her parents continue.
The shelter’s leader, Warin Weerasunthon, revealed that this was not the first time the girl had run away from home. She had escaped seven or eight times previously and had also run away from the shelter on several occasions.
Warin stated that the shelter would try to support the girl this time by helping her obtain an identification card and encouraging her to attend school and vocational training. She also plans to discuss with the parents the possibility of leaving the girl under the shelter’s care to prevent a recurrence of past incidents.
The story Missing Burmese girl rescued but rejects parents over alleged abuse as seen on Thaiger News.
