BURIRAM — 15 April 2026, a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed during a Songkran celebration in front of a municipal office in Khaen Dong district, Buriram province, with police arresting two suspects including an 18-year-old who later confessed.
Pol. Col. Paphatchai Petnok, acting chief of Khaen Dong Police Station, ordered investigators to take two suspects, an 18-year-old man, identified as A, and a 15-year-old boy, identified as B, to re-enact the crime at the scene outside Khaen Dong Municipality.
The incident occurred at about 23:30 on 14 April, when the two suspects and more than 20 others allegedly attacked the victim, identified as Ne (pseudonym), a 16-year-old local resident. He was stabbed multiple times and later died at Khaen Dong Hospital.
Initially, both suspects denied carrying out the stabbing, admitting only to being part of the group. Police seized several knives believed to have been used in the attack and said the group appeared to have planned the assault.
The 18-year-old later confessed to the killing, telling police that the 15-year-old initiated the attack by slashing the victim with a sword-like knife, after which he followed and stabbed the victim multiple times before fleeing. He said the motive stemmed from a prior rivalry, and the group had brought weapons to the event.
The victim’s mother, Sumalee, 40, said her son had asked permission to go out and celebrate Songkran, which she allowed as it was normal, preferring he go out at night to avoid the daytime heat.
She said she was initially shocked but did not expect the injuries to be severe. “When I arrived at the hospital, I was devastated after doctors told me he had been stabbed in several vital areas,” she said, adding that watching a video of the incident made her feel even more heartbroken, as her son had never harmed anyone.
Through tears, she called for justice, saying she wanted those responsible to face consequences equal to or greater than what they had done. She described her son as a diligent student who was about to enter upper secondary school in a science-maths programme.
Police have charged the suspects with joint intentional murder and carrying weapons in public. Further legal action is under way, while other youths present at the scene who were found not to be involved in the stabbing have not been charged.