Authorities Rescue Boy, 8, from Neglect and Find Him Unable to Speak
He was found living with relatives who abused drugs and a handful of dogs
His level of education is unclear, but he did not appear to be regularly attending school when he was saved on Monday, June 30An 8-year-old boy is recovering after authorities rescued him from an unsafe living environment, in which he was surrounded by a handful of dogs and found unable to speak.
An English version of Khaosod, a Thai newspaper, reported officials rescued the child, publicly identified only as "A," from Thailand's Uttaradit province on Monday, June 30.
He had been living in a ramshackle wooden home with his 46-year-old mother and 23-year-old brother, who both struggled with drug addiction, along with six dogs, according to the outlet.
'He didn't speak, he just barked,' said Pawina Hongsakul, president of the Pawina Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, a group that helped with the rescue, per The Thaiger. 'It was pitiful to see.'
Authorities launched the rescue operation in response to a report from a local school principal, according to Khaosod. He is now being cared for at the Uttaradit Children's Home, and his relatives are facing charges related to drug use.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
There are conflicting reports about his level of education, but he did not appear to be regularly attending school at the time officials saved him.
'The boy will be given a chance at a good life,' said Hongsakul, per The Thaiger. 'We'll follow up with him to make sure he gets everything he needs.'
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Read the original article on People
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Bloomberg
What's Behind the Deadly Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes?
A long-simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated to deadly violence on July 24 as their military forces clashed at multiple spots. Both sides have claimed the other was the aggressor when the fighting started in one of the contested areas, Prasat Ta Muen Thom. There were reports of gunfire and artillery shelling, and Thailand dispatched F-16 fighter jets to attack Cambodian army bases.


News24
6 hours ago
- News24
9 dead as Thailand Cambodia tensions spill into violent conflict
Nine people were killed in border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. A Thai fighter jet bombed Cambodian targets. The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia. A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least nine civilians, including a child. Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday. 'We have used air power against military targets as planned,' Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia. Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it 'strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia'. AFP The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area. Thailand's foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired 'heavy artillery' on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas including a hospital, leading to civilian casualties. 'The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand's sovereignty,' the ministry said in a statement. READ | Snakes on a plane: India officials block smuggling of live snakes from Thailand Thai residents including children and the elderly ran to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires in the Surin border province. 'How many rounds have been fired? It's countless,' an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter as gunfire and explosions were heard intermittently in the background. Cambodia's foreign ministry said Thailand's air strikes were 'unprovoked' and called on its neighbour to withdraw its forces and 'refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation'. For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various non-demarcated points along their 817km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes. The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360km east of the Thai capital Bangkok. Thailand's military said in a statement that nine people have been killed across three border provinces, including an 8-year-old boy in Surin. 'Artillery shell fell on people's homes,' Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40 000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. 'Two people have died,' he added. Video footage showed a plume of thick black smoke rising from a gas station in the neighbouring Thai Sisaket province, as firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze. Six people were killed and 10 wounded at the site, the military said, adding another person was killed in the border province of Ubon Ratchathani. 'The Thai Army condemns Cambodia for using weapons to attack civilians in Thailand. Thailand is ready to protect sovereignty and our people from inhumane action,' it said in a statement. The military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the Ta Moan Thom temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. 'We have to be careful,' he told reporters. 'We will follow international law.' An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia's influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court. Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pregnant British teenager appears in court in Georgia on drug smuggling charges
A pregnant British teenager facing serious drug smuggling charges in Georgia has told a judge: 'I never thought something like this would happen to me.' Bella Culley, 19, from Billingham, Teesside, has appeared in court in the capital Tbilisi where she is charged with importing cannabis in her luggage. If found guilty, she faces up to 20 years' or life imprisonment. She denies the charges and claims she was tortured in Thailand and forced to bring the drugs into Georgia when she flew into the country in May. The teenager's lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia said: 'The torture occurred before the transportation of the luggage, which she never touched. 'Specific individuals handled and checked in her luggage.' Speaking directly to the judge at the hearing on Thursday, Culley said: 'I never thought something like this would happen to me.' Culley is pregnant and her mother Lyanne Kennedy, who was present in court, burst into tears when she heard that the baby was a boy. The case was adjourned until September 2.