Police may have a lead in the case of six dead fetuses confiscated from a British-Taiwanese man in Bangkok’s Chinatown.
A woman in Pathum Thani filed a report earlier this month that the body of her miscarried baby was lost. She said that she had authorized a hospital to perform a funeral for the five-month gestated baby and hospital workers told her that they left the body in a bag in front of an undertaker’s room with THB400, according to ThaiRath and Khaosod.
The undertaker, however, said that he never saw the fetus and didn’t know anything about it. Monks at the temple where he works said they hadn’t seen the fetus either. The location of the fetus is still unknown and police are investigating.
More reports of people hearing the babies crying have come to light as well. Four police officers working the night shift Plabpachai Station said they heard crying noises and whispers coming from the evidence cabinet where the six fetuses were kept. Female police officer Jittima Thongchai gave the babies an offering of red Fanta soda and drinking yoghurt, and several police swore they heard a whispering voice say “the white chubby lady is very kind” in response.
The superintendent and officers at the station said they are not afraid of ghosts, but that they want to show their respect. As the Thai saying goes, “you may not believe in ghosts, but don’t disrespect them,” the superintendent said. People in the neighborhood of the police station were initially not allowed to pay respects to the fetuses, but when police relented people brought milk, garlands, and more red Fanta as offerings.
Autopsy results revealed last week showed that three of the babies were males and three were of undeterminable gender, Daily News reported. Some of the fetuses died from miscarriages, while forensic scientists are still trying to determine the cause of death of the others. Some of them said that they heard crying noises during the autopsy as well. The gestation levels of the fetuses ranged from three to eight months. Daily News claimed that this was the first time that kuman tong – fetuses used for superstitious black magic rituals – were autopsied in Thailand.
The case of the mystery fetuses began with the arrest of Mr. Choe Hok Kuen, a British national of Taiwanese origin, for the possession of the six babies. He said that he planned on selling them online for superstitious rituals. Hotel guest complaints about the sound of babies crying led police to Mr. Choe.
