Missing Phuket lad found with dad
UPDATE: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 11-year-old Choattawee Na-Vijit has been solved – and a mor doo, or fortune teller, on Koh Sireh, has seen his reputation fall through the floor.
Tuesday 2 August 2011, 08:02AM
Choattawee disappeared on Sunday morning after his aunt sent him out with B1,000 to buy some food.
The local mor doo convinced the family that he had been attacked and killed by a local gang of teenage thugs who dumped his body in a disused well. But a search by Kusoldharm volunteers of the well and others nearby failed to find any corpse, let along Choattawee’s.
It has now been revealed that while all this drama was taking place, the lad was with his father in Krabi. Armed with the B1,000 his aunt had given him, he simply hopped on a bus and went visiting.
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PHUKET: Mystery surrounds the disappearance of an 11-year-old boy who has not been seen since yesterday morning (Sunday) after being beaten and robbed a couple of days earlier by a gang of teenage thugs.
Choattawee Na-Vijit’s aunt, with whom he lives on Koh Sireh, and who asked not to be named because of fear of retribution by the gang, told The Phuket News that the boy had been targeted on Friday by the gang, who had robbed him of B100 she gave him to go shopping with.
After stealing the money, they threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the robbery.
But the boy showed his aunt bruises on his arm when he got home, and told her what had happened.
About 10 am yesterday, his aunt gave him B1,000 and asked him to go and buy some food. He has not been seen since.
The family consulted a local mor doo (fortune teller) who convinced them the child was dead. The mor doo said Chaottawee had been beaten by the gang, who then weighed him down with rocks and threw him into a disused well at the end of Laem Nga, at the northern point of the island.
The mor doo was not clear whether the child was dead or alive when thrown in the well.
Called in to help, staff from the Kusoldharm rescue service spent almost three hours in the well and in others nearby, but failed to find any bodies.
When last seen, Choattawee was wearing an outfit with images of Superman on both his T-shirt and pants.
Anyone who might have spotted a boy matching that description should contact the Kusoldharm on 076 246 301.
