‘I want to know who killed my kid’: Swiss dad speaks out after children plunge from balcony under Thai ex-wife’s care

Screenshot: Thairath
Screenshot: Thairath

Marcel Borel, the Swiss father of four children who fell from the balcony of their fourth-floor apartment in Bangkok last Tuesday, is publicly questioning why his Thai ex-wife and her parents left the kids unattended, going so far as to express doubts as to whether or not the fall was an accident at all.

In the early hours of May 1, four children aged 5 to 11, fell from their rented room in Ramkhamhaeng area, resulting in the death of a 5-year-old boy. Two of his siblings remain in intensive care, while the eldest miraculously suffered only a broken leg.  

Borel, who has seen the children infrquently since separating with their mother, Rattikarn Prakaikaew, four years ago, spoke with local newspaper/TV outlet Thairath from the funeral on Saturday, saying he wanted justice for his children.

“The only thing I want… I want justice. I want to know who killed my [son]. I want justice for my kids,” he said.

“Because I don’t believe the fall [was an] accident and I don’t understand why the grandparents can’t stay next to my baby. And me, I cannot see my baby. I was not at home,” he said.

“It’s not possible. Four kids at the same time. I want the police to do something,” he said.

READ: Swiss national files complaint after his 4 children fall from balcony under Thai ex-wife’s care 

Rattikarn’s family has previously said that the single mother had to work at her hotel reception that night and left the children with her parents, who lived in another room in the same building. The children’s grandmother had returned to her own apartment after putting them to bed.

According to Rattikarn, her 11-year-old daughter Didi wanted to help with the chores and began washing dishes near the balcony. Her younger siblings then climbed onto a plank of wood that had been screwed into the balcony as a makeshift shelf, which gave way under their weight and sent all four over the edge.

The incident, which is still under investigation, comes amid a long-term custody battle between the Swissman and his Thai wife that has only gotten uglier now that it’s in the public eye.

One of Borel’s friends told Thairath cameras this weekend that the father had been restricted by Rattikarn from visiting the surviving children in the wake of the accident.

“There was one day that he visited the kids at the hospital, and they let him look through the room’s window [where on of the kids stayed] for only one minute,” said Chananrat Kaewkert.

“Then he moved on to Didi’s room. He went in, and the grandmother would not pull away from the child. She told him [Borel] not to come close to Didi or touch her, when he’s her father and he has rights. It’s not fair.”

Marcel Borel and his Thai friend Nawaporn Brady spoke in an interview with Thairath, May 3, 2018. Screenshot: Thairath

Another Thai friend of Borel’s who appeared in a TV interview with him, Nawaporn Brady, took things to a freshly ugly level when he claimed that Borel separated from his wife after she started using his money to buy meth tablets, something Borel did not confirm himself.

“He gave her THB60,000-THB70,000 (US$1,800-US$2,100) a month, but she spent the money on yaba,” Nawaporn said.

Nawaporn, who was a Thai speaker and took charge during the interview, claimed that the court gave equal custody rights to the couple in 2016. Since then, the feuding over money has driven a wedge and caused Rattikarn to practically “run away with the children.”

For his part, Borel told cameras that he saw his children so infrequently at this point that they were now afraid of him.

Last week, Rattikarn’s family publicly accused Borel, an English teacher, of being an alcoholic and neglecting the children.

Police have not pressed charges against anyone pending investigation.

Related:

Swiss national files complaint after his 4 children fall from balcony under Thai ex-wife’s care

Thai grandpa of four children who fell from balcony vows never to give custody to Swiss dad



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on