Thai teen cadet's mystery death

Family in long quest for justice after 18-year-old's organs found missing, amid allegations of mistreatment and questions over Thai military discipline

Mrs Sukanya Tanyakan holding a photo of her late son Pakapong Tanyakan in cadet uniform, with husband Pichet Tanyakan and daughter Supicha Tanyakan. Although heart failure was the official reason given for the boy's death while training at Thailand's
Mrs Sukanya Tanyakan holding a photo of her late son Pakapong Tanyakan in cadet uniform, with husband Pichet Tanyakan and daughter Supicha Tanyakan. Although heart failure was the official reason given for the boy's death while training at Thailand's elite military preparatory academy, pathologists could not find his brain, heart, stomach or bladder during a post-mortem. ST PHOTO: TAN HUI YEE
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Heart failure was the official reason given when Mrs Sukanya Tanyakan was told her 18-year-old son died while training at Thailand's most elite military preparatory academy. But she sensed something was amiss.

"I knew in my heart what had happened," she said. "But it hurt too much to think about it."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 04, 2018, with the headline Thai teen cadet's mystery death. Subscribe