The stepfather of a three-year old boy was arrested by police in Kumpawapee district of Udon Thani on Tuesday on charges of assault causing the death of his stepson.
The suspect was identified by police as Mr Chokethawee Sangkaeprom, 32. Police said that he was with the victim’s mother for just seven months.
The victim, Nong Pao, was admitted to the intensive care unit of Udon Thani hospital in serious conditions. Doctors at the hospital said he suffered a fractured skull, fractured liver and right kidney, swelling brain and brain bleeding and three broken rib bones.
The victim was unconscious and administered with a respirator, but he never regained consciousness and died late Monday night.
Pol Col Pichet Wongburi, superintendent of Kumpawapee district police, said that when he was waiting for an arrest warrant from the court, he had despatched plainclothes policemen to keep a close watch on Mr Chokethawee to prevent him from escaping.
The stepfather showed up at the hospital’s morgue on Tuesday to claim Nongpao’s body back home for funeral ceremony and he was nabbed by police. He however denied the charges.
