Despite the weight of public outrage, the law has limits.
The person who filmed two teens drown Tuesday and the boat operators who ignored their cries for help face a maximum penalty of THB1,000 or one month in jail, according to police.
Bang Kho Laem district police are questioning all those involved in the incident, when someone captured the drowning deaths of Raya Puangsatorn, 13, and Sarin Sae-kwong, 20, in the Chao Phraya River as several boats went past without helping.
Everyone involved has offered some form of excuse.
Boat operators said they ignored them because it wasn’t the first time the boys had called for help, and in fact blamed several false alarms in which the boys had “faked” drowning, Channel 7 and TLC News reported.
“I didn’t help them because they have tricked us many times,” an unidentified local boat operator told Channel 7. “When we came to rescue them, they laughed at us. See how things turned out when they were actually in danger?”
She wasn’t among those to pass by the boys but witnessed the incident.
“We were watching them for a while,” she said. “When we saw them disappear in the water, we immediately called the rescue volunteers for help.”
As to the videographer who filmed the whole tragedy and has received equally harsh criticism – he reportedly can’t swim.
According the volunteer rescue team who arrived, the person who shot the clip could not swim and said he whipped out his phone to film the incident to help the authorities in the search for the boys.
Related:
Local boats ignore teens and leave them to drown in Chao Phraya River
