Original subtitles

In Mukdahan,

the public is supporting the search for Chompoo,

the little 3-year-old girl who disappeared from home without a trace.

At first, we thought it was just a simple missing-child case.

But it turned into a major event that captured the nation's attention.

Viewers, regarding Chompoo's case...

The authorities immediately deployed forces up there.

Searching day and night through the forests for her.

They found nothing.

We interviewed 384 witnesses.

If it's a kidnapping, the person is totally heartless.

Phon was just her uncle-in-law.

Suddenly, this little girl's case turned into a beauty pageant.

Phon, look at the camera.

You look handsome.

Check...

Hello, Uncle Phon.

We love Uncle Phon.

I said, "Wow, handsome, you should be a star."

"Tao Ngoi" by Jintara and Phon!

Uncle Phon!

YouTubers came around.

You just came back. Let me hug you.

Great.

Everyone was focused on Phon.

They must've totally forgotten what had happened to a kid.

CHAIPHON WIPHA "UNCLE PHON," CHOMPOO'S UNCLE

Sound ready? Rolling.

Hello.

CHOMPOO: LOST & FORGOTTEN

When I moved to Kok Kork...

KOK KORK VILLAGE

it was as if I'd moved to a hidden city.

There was no connection to the outside world.

KOK KORK VILLAGE, NORTHEASTERN REGION, THAILAND

ANAMAI WONGSRICHA CHOMPOO'S FATHER

Here, we rely on each other. We help each other.

I help you, and you help me.

"AUNT THORN" VILLAGER

We all know each other here.

Our village is related by blood, but most of the men are sons-in-law.

We're poor, but we're happy.

When there's a pot of food, we share it.

Our kids, extended family, and Chompoo had meals together.

Poor little Chompoo.

How could someone dare do this to her?

The truth of what happened in Kok Kork,

I and those who were at the scene and were part of it,

we'd know better than anyone what happened in Kok Kork.

As for my memory of that final day,

Chompoo...

MAY 11, 2020 6:00 A.M., THE DAY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE

I was on my tractor, about to go out to level the rice field.

Chompoo came out and called out to me.

She said...

"Come back home soon."

"Don't forget to buy me some snacks."

That last image has always stuck with me.

I've never forgotten it.

Then I drove off to do my work, leveling the rice field.

Around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m., someone called me, and when I answered,

they told me to hurry home because they couldn't find Chompoo.

I wasn't too worried at first.

She could've walked into the village or gone to play with older kids.

She loved to watch cartoons and play with toys.

She'd pretend to sell things.

She was very close to her big sister. They always stuck together.

Her big sister would take care of her.

Sading said she was distracted.

She was on her phone, playing games or whatever.

She glanced at Chompoo now and then.

She looked away for just a moment, and Chompoo was gone.

When I looked into her eyes, I could see her sadness.

She'd always looked after her sister well because those two were always together.

Most of the time, Chompoo would never go anywhere alone.

She wouldn't go into the dense forests.

When the evening came,

I started to feel like something wasn't right.

Sweetheart.

Come back to Daddy.

I quickly searched everywhere that I thought she could have gone.

Daddy's here to find you.

My partner was there with me.

Sweetie.

We listened for anything that sounded like a child.

That first night, I didn't sleep at all until dawn.

I was worried sick about whether my daughter would be okay

and whether someone had kidnapped her.

24 HOURS AFTER CHOMPOO'S DISAPPEARANCE

In Mukdahan, the public is supporting the search for Chompoo,

the little 3-year-old girl who disappeared from home without a trace.

The villagers conducted a thorough search, and they found nothing.

My niece disappeared that morning. I wasn't home.

When Chompoo disappeared from the village,

the relatives gathered at her mom's house.

She must have gone over there.

She was my niece.

She was a blood relative of Taen's family.

We'd get to take care of her.

The little one connected everyone. If we fought, we'd stop it for her.

SOMPORN LARBPHO, "AUNT TAEN," CHOMPOO'S AUNT

We loved each other so much because of her.

MANOP POLSAWANG "UNCLE MOK," VILLAGER

Sometimes kids get lost in the forest.

It's dangerous.

There are snakes and mosquitoes.

And what can they eat? There's no food or water.

Chompoo never went with anyone, and she never went far.

There was a lot of talk about Chompoo.

They only knew that she was missing and that someone hurt her, and...

But I didn't tell my little sister that this and that happened.

I didn't want her stressed.

The fact is, Chompoo's no longer with us.

Oh, shit!

And more and more people showed up to help search for her

because we couldn't find her.

I hiked the mountain four or five times that day.

Officers from the Royal Forest Department guided the villagers...

COMMUNITY FOREST

as they were local and knew the area well.

48 HOURS AFTER CHOMPOO'S DISAPPEARANCE

I posted about her disappearance, and I posted my phone number.

CHOMPOO DISAPPEARED

Then my phone rang almost nonstop.

IF YOU SEE HER OR HAVE INFO, CONTACT...

Many people were looking for her then.

Check the ditch too, please. Try to focus on the ditch, and...

Everyone looked in the swamps and everywhere around Kok Kork.

Dear guardian spirit of the forest, let them achieve the results as desired.

On the right?

Follow him.

There were shamans and monks coming, saying that Chompoo was here or there.

Kuman Ngern, Kuman Thong, Pia, Klae...

Mediums called, told us what to do...

CHOMPOO'S MOM, "SAWITREE"

and we did it all.

You mean you mostly believed the shamans back then?

Even if I didn't, I'd still do those things.

The monks came, so we had to keep doing everything

for our peace of mind, you know?

It was our hope.

72 HOURS AFTER CHOMPOO'S DISAPPEARANCE

On the fourth day...

I couldn't walk anymore because I'd barely eaten or drunk anything.

I never slept because I went to look for her whenever I wanted.

I had a bad feeling.

There was nowhere for anyone to sit.

And as for me, I didn't even eat or drink.

Someone called and said

that they saw a pair of shoes.

Right.

They didn't say if they were girls' or boys' shoes.

-Kids' shoes? -But they said they were kids' shoes.

Someone came down and said they'd seen a pair of kids' shoes,

but didn't know whose, so they came to tell us.

-Chompoo! -Where are you, honey?

-Where are you, honey? -Where are you?

Many forest rangers, police officers, and villagers went up that day.

At least 40 or 50 people followed us up there.

It seemed like spirits were around the big trees.

When we got close to them, we got goosebumps.

I'm getting them now.

It was dark, so everyone walked up in a line.

-Hey! -Hey!

Where are you?

We shone the flashlights because it was dark.

Sweetheart.

-Where are you? -Where are you?

-Snake! -Hey.

Hey!

We saw a snake and ran in different directions.

And then I saw her body.

-We just found her. -We found the kid.

We found the child!

We found her.

Then I decided to call my friend who'd gone up there.

Well, he was speechless.

He went quiet for a bit, and then he told me to brace myself.

I was shocked when he said those words.

Then I said to him over and over, "Just tell me."

And he said that, well,

she...

had gone to a better place.

It was like being stabbed over and over.

I already knew what condition my child was in.

Don't tell me she was cold,

she was in the forest, or she was hungry or crying.

I already knew.

At the time,

I felt...

a lot of confusing emotions then.

It wasn't like a heartbreak.

I lost the apple of my eye.

The person I loved the most.

I didn't want to live in this world.

The image of her lying on the ground

is still stuck with me today.

I prayed to Phra That Phanom, saying I want the one who did that to her,

whether intentionally or not,

to turn themselves in.

I want them to confess or repent.

SAKON NAKHON

MARUAY MARKET WONGSRICHA FAMILY

The images that are still with me

are of her running and playing with her aunt,

her parents, and her grandparents.

Those images are all in my memory.

Regarding the case of 3-year-old Chompoo, which we've been following closely...

Yes.

She was finally found yesterday, but she was already deceased.

The authorities immediately deployed forces up there.

They went to the Phu Lek Fai Forest in the Phu Pha Yon National Park.

Aside from the considerably steep terrain,

the path is honestly rather tough to walk on

because there are large and small rocks all over it.

DISAPPEARED HERE 1.87 KM

FOUND HERE 1.82 KM

The child could not have walked to the place where her body was found.

What we could tell as soon as her body was found was...

SARAWAT KIJPANIT "ICE," REPORTER

she couldn't have got there alone.

In that case, someone must've taken her.

And so it looked like maybe this case involved murder.

1,390 COMMENTS I HOPE THEY GET...

POST COMMENT

SOMEONE MUST HAVE DONE IT

I HOPE THEY GET WHOEVER DID IT. PEOPLE ARE SCARY THESE DAYS

I HOPE WHOEVER DID IT PAYS FOR IT

Since there were no forensic tools like CCTV cameras there,

and it happened in a forested area,

all we could do was interrogate witnesses, as detectives always do.

We also observed people around the victim.

-Right. -We set up surveillance.

We monitored their behavior.

We watched how they expressed emotions, their body language, faces, and actions.

-We looked at everything. -Right.

We went back to basics with this investigation.

After the incident, well, we were questioned constantly.

We answered all the police's questions.

We told the truth. We told them everything

because we wanted to know what had happened to our child and how.

KITTISAK WEERACHAICHAORENSUK JOURNALIST

Back then, I was already covering crime in the Northeast,

so the station sent me to Mukdahan.

Now we've walked to the temple archway.

The entrance.

I see.

At first, I thought it'd be very challenging, and it really was.

And the villagers were very rural people.

I went looking for the CCTV cameras.

There were none.

So I... didn't know what to do.

Officials said everything that was found near the child's body

and along the path to her body

is considered evidence.

The only thing they didn't find is

the top she was wearing when she disappeared.

She was naked when they found her body.

Someone took her top. What for?

I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw her, like...

She was like a doll just lying still.

She was lying on her back.

She was facing this way.

Her legs were spread apart.

She wasn't wearing any clothes.

Almost all the men in the village became suspects.

Why only men?

Because when they found her body, she was...

She wasn't wearing anything below the waist.

The police tested the DNA of almost all the men in the village.

So we had to suspect junkies, sexually disturbed people,

or people who had conflicts with... her parents.

That's what we thought.

No charges have been filed?

More meticulous and detailed.

We'll also expand the perimeter of the investigation.

It'll probably take some time. For today... I can't say much more.

The villagers collected her body and sent it for an autopsy.

Chompoo's death has left her family with unanswered questions.

It all had to be called off.

But the initial autopsy result

from Ubon Ratchathani's Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital

found no evidence of sexual assault or physical abuse.

But her family still has doubts.

You'll notice that her body underwent three examinations.

The first, by the Dong Luang Hospital, didn't include a dissection.

The second one was done

by the Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani.

Based on that autopsy,

they couldn't determine the cause of death.

The child's parents have expressed their concerns

as they still have unanswered questions about the cause of death.

That's the reason for the reexaminations.

The third exam was done

by the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Police General Hospital.

Authorities came and took the body to Bangkok for a second examination.

It was for an autopsy.

-Another autopsy in Bangkok. -The Police General Hospital.

They asked if any relatives were going, but no one did.

So Phon volunteered to go.

INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE

Her uncle says he hopes the perpetrator isn't from his community.

If it really is a local,

he'll have to keep worrying for a long time

because the perpetrator hasn't been found yet.

The journalists must have seen me talking about the case,

so they wanted to interview me and hear my thoughts.

Yes. Why not? I wasn't scared of the media.

If someone kidnapped her, they're completely heartless.

Also, we can't definitively say whether the death was caused

by starvation, dehydration, or another person.

We can't say that for sure yet.

Therefore,

regarding the cause of Chompoo's death,

we still can't identify what exactly caused it.

So people were wondering.

We became more and more interested in it.

More viewers began following the case closely.

She'd never go anywhere with strangers. She'd only go with the people she knew.

If we believe that theory,

we have to look at who could approach her without making her cry.

This is what we're considering.

Someone known to her, close to her, who could take her places.

When viewers followed closely...

It felt strange that so many people were interested in one kid's death.

That made it strange.

A child went missing and was found dead on a mountain.

But why were people so interested in it?

A lot of people were.

Each channel had its own angles.

But yesterday,

Thairath TV's field reporters received information from a villager.

This person said that maybe Chompoo's parents were the perpetrators.

If they were that worried, why didn't they try harder to find her?

Police officers often came to visit me.

They'd ask me if I suspected my little sister.

Why didn't she go up the mountain? They questioned everything.

Back then, they blamed us,

asking why we didn't take good care of her and how we lost her.

It was because of us, her parents. It was our fault.

Phon said that.

I want to ask her parents something too.

How come they still haven't gone up the Phu Lek Fai mountain?

Not even when the monks guided Chompoo's spirit down here.

CHOMPOO'S MOM... WHY DID YOU...

CHOMPOO DISAPPEARED...

PHON MUST BE VERY SAD

UNLIKE HER PARENTS, WHO AREN'T SAD AT ALL

MA'AM, WHY DIDN'T YOU GO UP THE MOUNTAIN TO LOOK AT YOUR CHILD'S BODY?

SOMEONE WHO TRULY LOVES THEIR CHILD SHOULDN'T CLAIM TO BE TOO TIRED

ISN'T IT STRANGE? THE PARENTS WAITED AT HOME FOR NEWS

WHILE THE VILLAGERS WENT LOOKING FOR THE KID AT NIGHT

You still insist you'd never hurt your child?

Yes.

If whoever said this has proof, they can arrest me.

Whoever said this, please don't make baseless accusations.

Well, we were angry.

But we endured it.

We let things proceed according to the legal process.

At that time, we didn't give interviews to some channels.

We didn't explain or speak publicly.

We stayed quiet and only cooperated with the police.

At times, I interviewed Chompoo's parents till they got mad at me.

Her mom isn't good with words.

She didn't appear much in the media or cry very much,

so the villagers were like, "She killed her own child."

HER MOM NEVER CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN, BUT NOW SHE SAYS SHE DID!

EARLIER, A FOREST FORAGER SAID HE HEARD TWO MEN'S VOICES

WERE THEY HER DAD AND AN UNCLE?! THEY SEEM CLOSE

I SUSPECT HER PARENTS THE MOST. HER BODY WAS CAREFULLY PLACED...

I'M SICK OF SAWITREE ALWAYS ACCUSING PHON

THE ENTIRE COUNTRY SUSPECTS HER AND HER HUSBAND

SHE SHOULD QUESTION HERSELF

People said they watched the news and came to ask us.

They came to us, so we told them about it.

They defamed us.

They did it by talking to the media and on social media channels.

1,190 COMMENTS

KARMA IS...

HOW AWFUL. THIS WOMAN KEEPS CAUSING TROUBLE

KARMA IS CATCHING UP TO THE SINNER

Their defamation hurt us and led other viewers to misunderstand us.

They insulted us in the comments when we did livestreams.

I'M STARTING TO HATE HER MOM

They used rude language, yeah.

Yes, quite rude language.

MA'AM, DIDN'T YOU THINK YOUR CHILD COULD BE FEELING HOT?

IS INDECENCY ALL YOU COULD THINK OF?

DR. TRYNH PHORAKSA CRIMINOLOGIST AND LECTURER

Our society is biased and expects people to react a certain way.

We expect others to act according to our expectations.

For example, with sadness, if a kid disappears, you say,

"Why aren't they sad?"

The parents might be sad,

but their emotional expression doesn't meet your expectations.

It doesn't reach the level you'd set.

We have to survive this.

We'll know the results tomorrow.

We must endure till the case is closed.

SONGPON RUENGSAMUT PHOTOJOURNALIST

The media gave importance to her family and to Uncle Phon.

But the other side barely appeared in the media.

It was like the media was on different sides.

Okay.

One agency was at her mom's house,

and the other was at Thorn's house,

mainly interviewing me, Taen, and Thorn.

Check...

One, two, three. One...

When the two agencies released news,

the coverage from Thorn's house gained an enormous following.

The viewership kept climbing.

-Yes. -The kids like you a lot.

-Here. -I see.

Do you see him?

It shot to number one in the rankings.

It overtook Thailand's most popular dramas and reached the top spot.

That agency's coverage was up here.

It's hard for news to beat dramas in ratings.

The rating jumped to the top three.

It seemed impossible.

-Well... -All right, Uncle Phon.

-Uncle Phon. -Yes?

After you arrived here, what did you find?

-And why did you come? -Well...

My bosses sent me to cover Uncle Phon.

Okay, let's get in the car.

I've stopped the time. I've stopped it.

He turned on the music and sang along.

I sat in the back and filmed him singing while driving.

I sent it to my bosses.

But viewers said his voice was beautiful!

How many days, months, years

I've been through in life

With so many twists and turns

I can't escape it or get lost

It's the same old path again and again

There's no way to escape it

Thank you.

The journalists were very excited

because their coverage ratings beat the dramas.

-Take it, Phon. -Yeah.

Sure.

Bonuses are based on business profits and that year's ratings.

Split in half, so it was likely cut with a knife.

Some people got... a lot. Some got maybe four months' worth.

Because they were happy.

At the time, the media was trying to make him a star.

But I'd keep quiet

while I was waiting, you know, for updates on my child's case.

Regarding the progress of the case, what's the status, sir?

It's slowed down and is pending.

Actually, there are many aspects where we're still stuck and can't proceed.

Attention!

When these things happen abroad, initial statements would be made.

How much they reveal depends on them.

In Thailand, things stay quiet until a case goes viral.

Only then do the police speak up.

Even saying a little would help, but they stay quiet.

When the police don't talk, the media takes on that duty.

She can always keep eating.

If you ask me if this cow could've eaten Chompoo's top,

I'd say there's a possibility.

There were many other things that were, like, unrelated to the case.

-Whoa. -Whoa.

Everything was a simulation.

I was upfront, telling people everything I was gonna do.

I even simulated the incident by carrying a fertilizer bag.

I'll walk around carrying a 10 kg bag of fertilizer,

which represents Chompoo's weight.

I went to the spot where she was found.

We're getting there. Almost there.

I timed how long it would've taken them to carry her there.

To be honest,

I didn't want to report it, but my bosses wanted it.

For some things, I said, "This isn't right."

But since our competitors did them, we had to too.

Well, viewers liked them.

Sathu.

All right, done.

It kept gaining momentum.

A medium came.

Another one did one thing.

That other one did something else.

Now this...

Venerable Monk, why did you light the firecrackers?

-Oh. -How many in total?

-Nine in total. -Right.

The meaning of the nine firecrackers is the cleansing of the curse.

Her spirit can pass on peacefully now that I've bound the demonic spirits.

Reporters followed them and let them do whatever they wanted.

They were already here, so we asked them to show us their miracles.

We let them go all out and do anything.

-What's the snake for? -This snake will find the culprit.

-I see. -And expose them quickly.

-You mean chase the culprit? -Yes, chase them.

-That's it. -I see.

-Let it catch the culprit. -I see.

So whatever the young reporters saw, they captured everything.

Stuff that made no sense, made sense, or was irrelevant.

They captured everything.

A mentally ill person was walking by. The perpetrator hadn't been caught then.

This mentally ill person walked by.

It then became a shot,

if you watched the news, of me running up to him and asking him,

"Excuse me, do you have anything to say?"

Back then, I talked to him,

and people wondered if he might be involved.

The attacker hadn't been caught yet, so viewers were like,

"Yes, it's him. It might be him."

1,460 COMMENTS WHY DIDN'T YOU CATCH...

I THINK HE'S SUSPICIOUS. FOLLOW HIM

THAT MAKES SENSE. THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE SACK

WHY DIDN'T YOU CATCH HIM? GET IMAGES OF HIS WHOLE FACE

He was detained by the police.

"Killed, it died, deadline..."

What is this, sir?

No.

I didn't use it. I just put it in order for reference.

Sir, why did you run away when you saw the reporters?

-Didn't wanna talk. Waste of time. -You could've talked to them.

This man was investigated through the official process.

He was found not guilty.

When Chompoo was still alive, it would follow her wherever she went.

It followed her everywhere.

The reporter in the area told me

that he was assigned to follow the dog wherever it went.

Som.

Yeah, he was like, "What the heck?"

Why did he have to watch a dog sleep,

follow it around,

and observe its sleeping habits?

MAYTAWEE HOLASUT RESEARCHER IN MEDIA STUDIES

Is it entertaining?

Are we brave enough to say the news we watch daily isn't news

but entertainment?

Are you brave enough?

Are we brave enough to say

news reporting doesn't just present information or facts,

but presents them for entertainment?

The fun part wasn't the incident itself, which wasn't fun or fascinating in itself.

It was entertaining

because of the people involved in this incident.

The media, the netizens,

and the people in real life were all engaged.

And it was...

Make sure you all look good.

Famous people started coming to see Uncle Phon,

and he started... to get famous.

I have a good eye for talent.

I've earned the nickname "Thailand's Top Star-Maker."

I've nurtured famous artists and stars.

OOP WIRIYA TALENT SCOUT

In murder mystery movies, we wanna see who the villain is at the end, don't we?

This creates interest.

Most importantly, Phon was born handsome.

Gosh, you're so handsome, Phon!

That's how he gained a following among people in their 30s to 50s.

Phon was good with words.

He was so eloquent.

He could mesmerize people and leave them swooning.

I heard the governor said he wanted to invite me to transplant rice, right.

I said, "Wow, handsome. You should be a star."

You go first, Phon.

Phon, look at the camera.

You look handsome.

That's so me, isn't it? It's my thing.

So I brought Phon into the entertainment industry.

He walked the runway, did commercial shoots, attended events.

I'll go right through.

Oop came to teach runway walking.

He taught young people that.

-Runway walking taught by... -He wanted to make them famous.

Tell Aunt Thorn. Aunt Thorn, you look beautiful.

Thank you.

-Was it fun walking the runway? -Well, it was fun, but I couldn't do it.

He told me to do this, and I was like...

Gosh, it was fun.

Uncle Phon!

Make some noise.

Jintara and Yinglee came. We were all onstage.

"Tao Ngoi" was a hit. My, there were tons of people.

Phon was able to make the Thai public scream and leave them very happy.

Everyone was focused on Phon.

They had totally forgotten what had happened to a child

and to this case.

The investigation team said

they'd cleared up any doubts about Chompoo's parents and older sister.

This case is of interest to the public.

And as I mentioned before, every so often,

if there's some progress, we'll make official announcements.

During the investigation and evidence gathering,

we interviewed 384 witnesses.

We collected key evidence of the case, of which 113 items have been examined,

including 16 pieces of evidence found at the scene.

As of now, the investigation report is 918 pages long.

And on August 11, 2020,

the investigation team finalized the autopsy report.

The doctor gave the opinion that it was highly likely

that Chompoo died from dehydration and starvation.

Chompoo disappeared in the period

between 9:11 a.m. and 9:49 a.m.

Where exactly was Uncle Phon on the day Chompoo went missing?

We traced the timeline

and simulated the whole incident to see what happened.

Things became strange because there were many inconsistencies.

His story of where he was at what time on which day...

He'd say something different every day.

On the 11th, he took a shower,

surveyed the land with Chompoo's mom,

rode his motorcycle back home with Taen, and took another shower.

He went to pick up a monk.

Dropped off the monk in Nong Sung Tai.

Back then, you didn't know Chompoo had disappeared?

I didn't know back then.

When they got home, they heard about...

They went to find her.

But when I asked him about the date he went up the mountain,

he... seemed to have gotten the details mixed up or something.

My partner told me she hadn't seen Chompoo and didn't know where she'd gone.

I told her the monk was in the car.

Let's drop him off.

MAY 11, 2020

SURVEYED LAND, WENT HOME, LEARNED ABOUT CHOMPOO, DROPPED OFF MONK

Based on the timeline, he shouldn't have known she'd gone.

That's not what he told the cops.

Multiple police units came.

They had me specify the times, what I did, and with whom.

They put those 24 hours together in order.

They asked people about the times and places.

I had to look for witnesses.

But most people didn't like me, so who would be my witness?

All I had was Taen, who was with me all the time.

When they interviewed me, I got the times mixed up. I wasn't sure.

I'd expected that they'd, you know,

direct all their questions at us as if they were examining her parents too.

Can you give me an example of a question put to you as if asking her parents?

Try it.

They asked about times.

Today, her mom said the only person she still suspects is Uncle Phon.

I want Phon to explain himself. We still have to live together.

All the villagers, her dad, me, and Sading were all investigated.

If Phon were truthful from the start

and never seemed suspicious,

I think the police and I wouldn't have suspected him.

I feel guilty, but I have to do it.

If the case goes cold, and the cops leave, how can I live?

Live while constantly suspecting Phon?

I think saying that I feel offended would be too harsh.

I'd rather say I feel a little hurt.

LIKE IF YOU THINK PHON DIDN'T DO IT

WHY DO YOU KEEP ASKING PHON TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF?

HE'S SAID ALL THAT HE HAD TO SAY

PLEASE SHOW PHON SOME SUPPORT

People already believed him and fell for him.

They fell for him like he was their hero and favorite star.

They didn't believe Phon was the perpetrator.

Good luck.

He had money and supporters.

I think he got a sackful of money a day from donations.

Tourists came to visit. They came up from the South. Where else?

From Chonburi, the North, and Ratchaburi.

They came to support Phon.

-Come in. -You want to?

Would you like to come in?

-Did you come alone? Please come in. -Yes.

I'm here to support Phon in Dong Luang.

Come here.

Gosh, I came all the way from Ubon Ratchathani.

Thais are naturally sympathetic.

-I want to help. -Good luck.

But does he know he's a fan of Manchester United?

This happens with other stories too.

It happens when a family calls for donations.

As soon as Thai people see it, they donate.

TO UNCLE PHON SMOOTH SAILING, WEALTH, SUCCESS

-How do you feel? -I'm happy to join Phon's event.

-I made up my mind to come. -Where did you come from?

-Sakon Nakhon. -You came a long way.

Normally, when someone becomes a suspect, they keep quiet

and don't appear much in the media.

That's what we usually see.

Sure.

Well, these are Phon's fans.

They came to support him. Woo!

Stay strong, Phon.

YouTubers came around.

After Phon drew supporters and YouTubers,

a YouTuber village sprang up very close to his house.

LIVE

Those YouTubers lived there.

Around 30 or 40 of them, if I remember correctly.

Hello. Greetings to all my brothers and sisters out there.

It's me, Boom Noi Roi Et, again. Please like and share.

SURACHAI SUWANNAKIT YOUTUBER

-I got carried away. -Thank you.

I wanted to go there and see how Phon behaved.

-Hello, Aunt Thorn. -Hello.

-Hello, Aunt Taen. -Hello.

-Taen came to buy... -She came to shop.

Get in the car.

It's full.

Where are you going?

I was a fan, and I'd follow him everywhere.

-Deposit and don't withdraw it. -Yes. Don't withdraw it.

-Thank you. -Okay.

-Blessings to all the fans. -Okay.

What they did created a condition

that the Westerners call a parasocial relationship.

It's a relationship where, like, we identify ourselves

with those YouTubers and influencers, and think of them as friends.

This causes the boundaries or lines between reality,

individuals, and society to change.

It was like an interactive reality show.

Oh, it was a phenomenon.

Phon's channel earned 150,000 baht a month.

Everyone was very confused when it launched.

Even famous stars couldn't make that.

WELCOME

-Be strong. Can I get pics? -May the YouTubers get rich too.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

We have reached a total of 10,000 baht.

-No, 10,000 boxes. -It's 10,000 boxes.

RECEIPT 100,000.00 BAHT

It seemed, for channels that didn't give Phon compensation,

he didn't really want to talk to them.

A GIFT FOR TAEN AND PHON

It's here. Wow.

-Here it is. -It's here.

DON'T LET THE GUILTY ESCAPE

THE ATTACKER MIGHT STILL BE IN THE VILLAGE

IT'S SUSPICIOUS

MUKDAHAN, PREPARE FOR A HEADACHE

DON'T LET THE GUILTY ESCAPE. THE CULPRIT MIGHT STILL BE IN THE VILLAGE

Kok Kork became a human zoo.

Everyone came to, like, wow, observe the lives of this or that person.

-Take his photo. -Who is that?

Oh, hello.

At Kok Kork, the majority of the villagers, as far as I could tell,

are divided into groups.

What I mean is there are... many groups, which, like,

have different opinions.

I was afraid I'd say something off-topic, then they'd film it and broadcast it.

Because YouTube is global.

Nowadays, YouTubers don't love each other, not like before, do they?

I felt both good and bad about it.

In the past, our community was quiet. We were like a family.

Yes, you look beautiful.

Later, we became divided into different sides.

We didn't even want to look each other in the eye back then.

-Hey, it works. -Do you want money?

I only remember the good things about the YouTubers staying with us

as a media outlet.

But most importantly,

what I'm proud of is

millions of people still want to see what I'm like.

Mince salad with blood.

From the past to the present and the future,

I still think the media has both good and bad sides.

Come on.

We can't expect the media to only show the positive sides of us.

We all have bad sides. No one is 100% perfect.

In humans, there are genetics in the brain

that make us favor good-looking people.

We tend to believe good-looking people more.

This is my hometown. Hello, Jee.

-Hello there. -Hi.

-I'm hanging out with reporters here. -Okay.

Okay.

This was an entrance to my school.

I'm a fast learner. I'm smart.

To put it simply, I'm not bragging. My teachers told me so.

I was born and grew up here, and I stayed in my hometown

less than 15 years.

After that, I went to live in Bangkok.

I gained life experiences from there.

I have experience in security work, similar to police officers and soldiers.

These behaviors stem from being someone who...

I was a head of security.

If someone tries to harm hotel guests, I have to investigate, don't I?

The grandiose type is someone who believes they have special powers over others.

This misguided state is called delusion.

I became more mindful of my position and how I presented myself

because I became a public figure,

with everyone wanting to know about my life.

Ordinary people might not notice in this character

any signs of abnormality or suspicion in the case.

But an officer would definitely see there's something suspicious.

But suspicion alone isn't enough for a conviction.

We need forensic evidence

and physical evidence.

Thank you all for watching. Phon has now arrived.

SOMKIAT ROJANAWARAKAMON LAWYER

The first time I went to meet Phon,

I felt sorry for him and wanted to help him.

I handled six cases for Phon and Taen.

After spending time together and getting to know him,

my perspective changed.

I saw that Phon isn't as ordinary as I first thought.

I think he's quite intelligent.

Quite intelligent.

And in some ways, he's bad-tempered.

He's somewhat self-centered.

I've heard the villagers say that he, well, has two personalities.

One when he's happy and one when he's not.

I stayed behind his house.

I rented a hut behind his house.

Sometimes, when he'd wake up, I'd see him, like,

scream, shout at his wife, or something like that.

That's not the kind of tone he'd use in an interview like this.

It wasn't gentle.

Instead, it was loud and harsh.

He was different in front of and behind the cameras.

There was a problem.

He had a problem with a reporter.

I came to talk to you first.

He might have been under stress and pressure

with so much going on, including becoming a suspect.

And our journalists all covered the same issues.

Let me see which channel this is. Come, give it to me.

Give me the mic.

Let me hold it. This channel. Come.

-Let go. -I can't.

Let me hold it. It's okay. Let me hold it.

-This channel. -It's okay.

Let me hold it. What's wrong?

-Don't hurt me. -Let me hold it.

-It's okay! -Okay.

This made us realize he was hotheaded.

-Sir! -Sir...

-Don't hurt me. -I won't.

I'm a reporter. I'm doing my job. Don't hurt me.

Don't hurt me. I'm a reporter. I'm doing my job.

I did nothing wrong.

We humans, when we get pinched, it hurts there.

Nobody gets pinched here and feels the pain in some other spot.

When you pinch my heart, it hurts there.

That's why I said you hurt my feelings

when I was always nice to you reporters.

Let's revisit the day Chompoo's body was found.

MAY 14, 2020 THE DISCOVERY OF CHOMPOO'S BODY

How was Phon the moment he saw her?

He didn't cry right away.

Didn't he cry right away?

No, not right away.

-We found the child. -Yes.

We found her. Notify them.

Are you her dad?

-We found the child. -He's her dad.

Give us a signal, please.

-Hey! -I can hear someone crying.

He cried right when the reporters got there.

They were coming right behind.

It was just a few minutes.

That fits the crocodile tears theory.

A person pretending to cry to cover up their wrongdoing.

People tried to make me

the villain in the media's eyes.

They said I was hot-tempered and must be a suspect.

"See what he's like? He's so hot-tempered."

"Maybe he did something to her without thinking."

One day, the police asked me to talk to them.

It was like having a meal with the officers.

I thought maybe they'd identified the perpetrator.

To put it simply, after listening to the whole thing,

I knew right away that they meant

Uncle Phon.

The police's work this week

involved gathering the groups of people who went to search for Chompoo

between May 11 and 14.

They grouped them like this

to simulate the situation during that time.

The police investigated and questioned everyone.

Only one person gave unclear answers.

"Where were you that day? At what time?" The police dismissed the ones with alibis.

They crossed off everyone.

That left only Uncle Phon.

So, these are key witnesses in the case who might know who took the child away.

Two people, Bam's father and...

They call her Auntie Nom.

A firewood collector.

So, they were around the rubber plantation,

which you could walk through to reach the spot where she disappeared.

Near where her body was found.

Around the time the perpetrator was committing the act.

WATCHARIN KONGKAENTHAO "BAM'S FATHER," VILLAGER

I looked at the plantation next to mine

and saw Phon, Ohm's father.

MAY 11, 2020

9:00-10:00 A.M., THE DAY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE

I saw him lurking around.

I wondered why. I did think it was strange.

So I went to ask him.

I asked him, "Phon, did you come to tap rubber trees?"

The owner let him come.

He went still. Yeah.

As for me, I had a witness, but I couldn't reveal that.

This witness saw the culprit,

but the police asked me to say nothing, so I told my station

that this person was the key witness.

The police asked us not to mention this, so we didn't.

This granny was cutting wood and saw someone carrying her.

She saw them walking from behind the kid's house,

past some bamboo trees.

The police asked us to keep quiet, so we did.

Who carried her?

The suspect.

I mind my own business.

Do I worry about other people? Yes, I do.

I can tell you what happened with Bam's dad.

About Bam's dad, he's very important. He's a natural as a witness.

-Yes. -He's never changed his testimony.

After seeing the news, the next day,

I rode my motorbike to Bam's father's house, opposite mine.

Just opposite mine.

I said, "What you said in the news,

was it true, or did you remember it wrong?"

People around him were unhappy with me.

They tried to scare me, to scare me badly.

They came to my house at night.

They tried to hit me with an iron bar. And they took out a knife.

They tried to stab me.

I was on my guard, ready to fight them.

Then they got scared and shouted at me before leaving.

After you found out the police suspected Phon,

did they tell you to wait or something?

I wanted him to finally get arrested.

We had to wait because to get him,

they needed solid evidence so he couldn't get away and fight.

I waited for evidence.

Two, three, four.

Try some more poses.

In Chompoo's case, the police must confirm that we have forensic evidence

proving Phon's involvement.

The police came to inspect his car, which Chompoo would sit in.

Wherever she went, she'd always get a ride in his car.

When I opened the doors on both sides

and pulled both windscreen wipers up,

I stepped back from the car.

"Please go ahead and do whatever you want."

"You want to inspect the car? Go ahead."

They got in the car and inspected this and that.

They went ahead and did their job

while I stood arms crossed, watching, like,

"What are they gonna do with me?"

That's enough.

Take it down.

What about the middle part?

I thought, "This doesn't feel right."

I don't know where they got the hairs from,

but the news said they got them from here or there and so on.

They put on their uniforms and put the yellow tape around the area.

I was startled by what was going on all over the place.

They asked me which outfits we put on to tap rubber on the 11th.

I couldn't remember. It was long ago.

And I didn't pay attention to what I was wearing.

I put on whatever was available, so I couldn't remember.

And I never cleaned the inside of my car.

How could I verify the facts?

I didn't know what they'd brought,

what they collected, or where they collected it from.

They didn't let me see. What were they afraid of?

One of the hairs found in Uncle Phon's car

had a cross-section on the side of its surface

with the same angle as two of her hairs.

And at least three hairs were collected near where Chompoo's body was found.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

They're like ropes.

All the evidence and witnesses, including hair, are important

in forensic science.

They're all connected.

1 ABOUT LIFE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION KIT

The hairs that had fallen in the car and the crime scene

had been cut with the same weapon, a knife.

That's the main thing.

MAPPING/MEASUREMENT KIT

The police used a scientific facility called a synchrotron.

This machine is a synchrotron light source.

It's a very large machine.

Synchrotron light emits radiation as X-rays,

and the radiation is much more intense than ordinary radiation.

Therefore, the analysis can be very detailed.

Synchrotron.

A sample of Chompoo's hair at the scene had the trace of a cut,

and more hair was found in Phon's car.

They magnified the strands, and they connected just right.

Therefore, they believe

that when Chompoo was dying, Phon was probably there.

THE WORKING GROUP IS THOROUGH

IT'S HARD FOR HIM TO GET AWAY WITH IT WHEN THERE'S FORENSIC EVIDENCE LIKE THIS

Back then, we didn't understand why he cut it.

I asked the villagers, and they said he did black magic, he bound souls.

AKARAPONG KHAMKOON PROFESSOR IN THAI STUDIES

There are many theories to explain it.

Could it be a human sacrifice?

According to Thai beliefs,

there might be a sacrifice of a virgin girl,

that is, she's never had a boyfriend or a husband.

This happens in Western movies too, where virgins and blood are sacrificed

to Satan.

They have these things.

It's possible.

There are many motives.

Is it possible he took Chompoo or her top with him to do something?

If this is really about black magic, I think it's possible.

From the perspective of us rural Northeastern people.

There should be something on the shirt to help identify the perpetrator.

They tried to connect me to black magic.

I had nothing to do with black magic whatsoever.

They went as far as to say I stuck incense sticks upside down.

As for sticking incense sticks upside down

and that sort of thing, it means he didn't want to make a promise.

He didn't want to commit himself to that obligation.

It's a way of stopping, of refusing to honor the promise.

And the trees?

-Nice? Or you want this angle? -It's nice.

MASTER MAHAMUNI YOUTUBER

Cutting hair is just a way to conceal something.

Cutting her hair, taking off her top,

and leaving her naked

were done to divert attention from the truth.

You understand?

Imagine that I took the kid away.

I'd be scared people would know I did it, so I'd have to take off her clothes

to suggest that she had been dragged away to be raped.

About her body, that was well planned, wasn't it?

Her clothes were taken.

You'd see that and think, "Is this sexual abuse?"

-Yeah. -See? To make someone else look guilty.

Watching the news, I thought people didn't believe it at first

because he seemed like an ordinary country person

living a country lifestyle.

He probably wouldn't do any harm.

And more importantly, he was Chompoo's uncle or something,

and he was close to her.

Just look at him. Take a long, hard look at him.

Could an uncle have done that to his niece?

Why would he go that far? What's the reason?

There must be a motive and a reason.

When someone kills, it's probably not just because they feel like it and just do it.

Before Chompoo's case, the family had conflicts with each other.

I COULD TELL IT WAS ABOUT MONEY

THEY PICKED SIDES NOT OUT OF MORALITY BUT OUT OF GREED

When it comes to debt, actually, it was only him borrowing from me.

He'd borrow my money

and wouldn't return it, so I had to follow up.

I owed him nothing. He was the one who owed me.

So, since the family has been together, has anything this serious ever happened?

Nothing this serious has ever happened.

SOMKHUAN LARBPHO CHOMPOO'S GRANDFATHER

Just little arguments.

At first, I wanted to ask Phon if he really did it.

If he really did it, he should admit it like a man.

If he did it, why did he do that to a child?

What for? Why was he upset with her?

If he was mad at us parents, he should've taken it out on us.

Take it out on me.

Don't do it to a child.

The police asked the Mukdahan Provincial Court

for an arrest warrant

for Mr. Chaiphon Wipha, or Phon, on three charges.

The charges are abducting a child aged 15 or under away from her parents...

JUNE 1, 2021

abandoning a child aged 9 or under

with the intention of leaving her without a caregiver.

Wait. Don't.

Okay, sure. Go ahead.

-Move back. -How many more minutes?

We're detaining Mr. Chaiphon under an arrest warrant.

-We've waited for years. -We're still following it.

Phon's wife also faced charges.

Taen was charged with two charges,

including tampering with the corpse to change the outcome of the case.

-This is the same charge as Phon. -Right.

Secondly, she's the coconspirator in committing the offense.

Hey, this was getting weird.

I was confused about why there was a warrant for me.

I surrendered to the Royal Thai Police to prove my innocence.

Uncle Phon?

Well!

-It's not something we see often. -Right.

A suspect being flown back on a police helicopter.

They acted like I was the nation's top drug dealer.

ROYAL THAI POLICE

The police escorted me on a helicopter.

The cops in the Hummer were all my fans.

We were taking selfies like we were friends.

They let me hold keys and took pics with me as souvenirs.

Gosh. "I like you." Stuff like that.

Turn left.

On the second day, I was in the cell.

My first time ever being in there. I stayed in there on the second day.

I sang my song, "The Truth in My Heart."

I was accused of wrongdoing

Oh, what a hard life

I only gave you the love I had Looking after you while you were here

A cop who was sitting there was like...

Instead of stopping me... "Hey, you're a suspect."

"You're... a prisoner."

The YouTubers were down there

trying to record it.

"Hey, Phon is singing. Come see!"

DECEMBER 20, 2023

Today, the Court of First Instance of Mukdahan

scheduled the reading of the verdict in Chompoo's case.

According to the latest update, the verdict's been announced.

When they read the verdict,

I nudged my lawyer next to me. "What?"

"Pan, what was I convicted of?"

"Wasn't the case dismissed?" He said, "Hold on."

"Calm down, Phon. You've been convicted."

I started crying. I couldn't hold back my tears.

I really didn't know I'd been convicted.

IN THAILAND, THERE IS NO PUBLIC REGISTER

FOR THE RULING OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OR THE COURT OF APPEAL.

ACCORDING TO MEDIA COVERAGE,

THE MUKDAHAN PROVINCIAL COURT SENTENCED PHON TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON,

RULING HIM GUILTY UNDER SECTIONS 291 AND 317 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE

FOR NEGLIGENCE, CAUSING ANOTHER PERSON'S DEATH,

AND ABDUCTING A CHILD AGED 15 OR UNDER FROM HER PARENTS WITHOUT REASONABLE CAUSE.

ALL CHARGES AGAINST TAEN WERE DISMISSED.

PHON SAID HE WOULD FILE AN APPEAL.

This is a very special case.

I've never seen one like this in 20-odd years as a lawyer.

If it's a case involving a killing

or a serious crime, the court usually imprisons them right away.

The court released him.

-Hello. -Hello.

Uncle Phon looked like he was crying.

But he said he accepted the Court of First Instance's ruling.

He said he understood the orders, and the rest is in the lawyers' hands.

I'm still wondering how those hairs fell inside my car.

But if those hairs they took really were hers,

I'd try to explain to the lawyers

that I never washed my car and Chompoo rode in my car all the time.

You journalists have seen me arguing about the synchrotron,

the hair analysis, and the cut mark.

I don't know what that cut mark is.

This is an announcement by Boem, Phon's lawyer.

Strands of hair are strands of biological matter,

which are different from metals in general.

I don't know how long they were kept

until they looked at the magnified images under synchrotron light.

And this is scientifically unstable.

AUGUST 12, 2025 EVE OF PHON'S APPEAL HEARING

Honestly, I think about it... all the time.

The memories are always in my head.

When I think about it, I always cry.

If I could turn back time, I would like to spend much more time with my daughter.

Because she was with me

for three years and two months.

Just a short time.

MUKDAHAN, NORTHEASTERN REGION, THAILAND

I'm prepared for the worst.

I'm like two people in one body.

One asks, "If this is the outcome, can you accept it?"

The other side of me can accept it because I'm already prepared.

I've prepared for the pain.

Yeah.

I can't figure it out.

What the motive was,

what he was thinking, how he did it, why he did it.

What's your name?

-Stack them. -Go get it downstairs.

I want this to be the last case like this. And I want justice to be served.

I think Phon's case will be a lesson many people will need to learn from.

This includes the way we see

how the justice system in our country has changed.

The truth won't come out

if social media meddles with the facts in the case.

Phon's case is a very good example of that.

Even lawyers like me were shocked.

I want to say something to reporters who are hungry for news

or don't care about the news stories they get.

When this happens to your family, you'll understand

how difficult it is to bear the consequences.

How powerful do you think social media is?

It's really powerful.

If we create YouTube videos or similar media,

we must accept the consequences.

We must do it well and think before we say something.

Once our words are out on social media, we can't take them back

because every word has a price to pay.

She was like a little angel

who lived for only a short time, and people ended up making money off her.

I won't deny that I got famous because of her.

I admit I got famous because of Chompoo's case.

I never met you, but I've seen your photos.

In your next life, I hope you have a perfect life

with your parents,

and you don't suffer and die at the hands of cruel and evil people.

To this day,

all the coverage that happened

was a total fucking waste.

It's like it came and went past, and it's over now.

It's all in the past now.

And what's next?

AUGUST 13, 2025 PHON'S APPEAL HEARING

This story is complicated and convoluted.

Finally, it has gone through the justice system.

This story is a long and epic tale.

It started in 2020

and it's still going now, in 2025.

How do you feel? Relaxed?

Well,

I'm nervous.

-Nervous. I get it. Yes. -I'm nervous.

Well, as you've seen, I've had to wait for today,

the day the court reads the verdict.

-Let's wait and see. -Right.

This afternoon we should... hear some good news.

I've fought to this day because I want my family to get justice

like other families to whom justice is served.

Please don't shout. Keep it down.

As we agreed, I came to support Phon.

So, why are you still his fan?

Well, like, he's a kindhearted person.

Although a lot has happened,

with people insulting and accusing Phon and Taen of things,

the remaining YouTubers still have faith in them.

We've seen his actions and behavior since we started staying in Kok Kork.

If by noon we don't see Phon come out,

it means the court must've sentenced him for some reason.

Regarding the epic case of Uncle Phon,

who was accused of causing little Chompoo's death,

today the Court of Appeal announced the verdict, viewers.

Uncle Phon's sentence has been increased.

-The court increased it to 26 years? -Increased to 26 years.

Oh crap, I'm gonna faint.

The Mukdahan Provincial Court

read the verdict of the Court of Appeal Region 4.

The court sentenced Mr. Chaiphon Wipha, the first defendant, on three charges.

Imprisonment for murder with indirect intent, 15 years,

abducting a child aged 15 or under from her parents, 10 years in prison,

and tampering with the corpse

or the crime scene where the body was found

before the autopsy was completed,

one year in prison.

That's 26 years in total.

CHOMPOO HAS RECEIVED JUSTICE

Stay strong.

Look at this camera.

Everyone who came here has been unable to eat or sleep.

I don't even know what to say. We did our best. We tried our hardest.

Stay strong!

Come. Let's go together.

Stay strong. Okay.

Do you feel better now?

-Do you feel better now? Okay. -Keep fighting.

What's your name?

I cried.

Well, the punishment's harsher this time.

I'd like to thank everyone who's worked on Chompoo's case.

She's received justice this time.

I felt so happy, I was shaking and crying.

This is something I've been waiting for a long time.

When they found her body, the police carried out an investigation.

We had to wait.

We waited two, three years, four years, five years

until today.

Now Chompoo has received justice.

I'm not satisfied. I'm very sad that he could do this to a child.

I want to tell those who have followed this news from the start

to watch things for more than a moment before they believe them.

Also, to the media out there,

don't turn a suspect into a celeb, a star.

Please report the news ethically.

Please let this be the last case like this.

Don't turn criminals into stars.

Don't let this happen again.

Well, I told my daughter

I hope she rests in peace and becomes an angel in heaven.

AFTER THE VERDICT FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL,

BOTH PHON AND THE PROSECUTOR STILL HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE TO APPEAL

TO THAILAND'S SUPREME COURT

Subtitle translation by Tanchira Arjinkit