The father of a British teenager who was killed in Thailand confronted the person who is accused of killing his son there.
To assist with the inquiry into the passing of Woramet Ben Taota, 16, who was known to friends as Ben, 60-year-old Steven Graham flew out from his home in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Inflicted with severe head wounds and facial cuts, Ben was found on May 7 in a grove in his hometown of Lampang in the country’s north.
Chaiwat Boonkarin, 44, was charged with his murder after reportedly confessing to the killing, telling police he bludgeoned him with a piece of wood during a drugs dispute.
Handcuffed and wearing a bulletproof vest, he was taken to the secluded spot in dense woodland where Ben was found on Sunday.
Mr Graham, wearing a blue t-shirt and glasses, approached the police car saying: ‘Scum, look at me. Look me in the eye. Look me in the eye you b*****d.’
Shaking with rage, he then yells: ‘Take his mask off, I want to see his face. You’re a coward. You’re a coward. F*****g look at me you b*****d.
‘No, you can’t look at me, you’re a coward. Look, look at me. You b*****d.’
He was comforted by Ben’s mother Ooy Taota, who also yelled at the suspected killer, along with several relatives.
Speaking at the scene, Mr Graham said: ‘I just want to throttle him. He’s evil. He’s pure evil, scum.’
Ooy added: ‘I cannot understand what happened. My son was a good boy, now he will never grow up. I hope the murderer dies in prison.’
Chaiwat, who police said was recently released from prison for sex crimes, reportedly told police he lured Ben to the forest and attacked him in revenge for a bungled drug deal.
He was said to have claimed Ben and his girlfriend Suraphltchaya Khamsa, 16, who is still missing, were methamphetamine runners for him but stole a consignment.
Police Major General Mongkol Sampawapol, commander of Lampang Provincial Police, said: ‘The (suspected) killer was angry because he believed that Ben kept drugs for himself and his girlfriends, so he hit the victim with a stick several times until he died.
‘He is a criminal. He has been in prison before. He will be charged with murder.’
Police officers from the Mae Tha district said they received a report on Sunday morning that the teenager had been found dead in a grove in the Ban Than district.
Officers found in his black shoulder bag a smartphone charger and a red wallet containing his ID card and bank card.
His smartphone and cash were missing, with police suggesting he could have been robbed for the gadgets and money.
Officers believe Ben was killed elsewhere and dumped in the woods, as there were no signs of struggle where his remains were found.
They said he had head injuries consistent with severe trauma.