Man in Thailand suspected of killing wife by putting small bomb in her mouth
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The man reported his wife’s death to a community leader in the middle of the night, claiming he woke up to find her dead.
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A man from the northern province of Mae Hong Son in Thailand has been accused of killing his wife by placing a bomb in her mouth.
The 54-year-old man, who was identified only as Yon, has denied the allegations, Thai news outlet Thaiger reported.
Local police officers were called to a house in the Mueang district of the province on Aug 6 to investigate the death of a 53-year-old woman, identified as Luen, the report said, adding that she had died the night before.
Officers were met with a grisly sight: Luen’s head was covered in blood, and she suffered major injuries to her mouth and face. Several of her teeth were on her bedroom floor, with fragments of ping-pong bombs and unused bombs of the same type also found at the scene.
According to other media reports, these explosive devices are known as ping-pong bombs because they are about the same size as a table tennis ball.
Yon had reported his wife’s death to a community leader in the middle of the night, claiming that he had woken up to find her dead, the leader told police.
The leader said he did not immediately alert the police as he felt that it was too dark for the police to effectively investigate the death.
According to Thai broadcaster Channel 7, Yon was expressionless and looked uninterested when police were investigating the crime scene, and sat away from it.
The couple’s daughter, 24, later arrived on the scene in tears as she accused her father of being the killer.
American broadsheet World Journal reported Yon as saying that he had been sleeping in the same room as Luen, but did not hear any explosions.
Locals told the broadcaster that Yon had a tendency to be jealous, and would often argue with his wife after drinking alcohol.
They added that Yon had not allowed his late wife to leave the house, but she enjoyed temple visits and occasionally stayed the night at Dhamma retreats.
Luen had allegedly just returned from a retreat before she died.
The locals also said Luen was beloved by the community as she was very kind, and added that it was hard to believe anyone would hurt her on purpose.
Luen’s body has been transferred to a hospital and an autopsy will be performed. Police officers will also continue questioning Yon and searching for more evidence at the scene.
