Relatives of Murdered Thai Family Demand Death Penalty for Killers as Chonburi Family of Three Cremated
CHONBURI, Thailand
The bodies of a father, mother and teenage daughter murdered and buried by a gang of criminals reportedly led by a suspect known as “Pong” were cremated on Saturday in a solemn ceremony at a temple in Banglamung district, as grieving relatives called for the death penalty and reported strange incidents they believe show the victims’ spirits remain restless.
At 4 p.m. on Aug. 8th, 2026, Phongsathit Pitjanan, deputy governor of Chonburi province, presided over the joint cremation of Wichian Wongsa, 53 (known as Chian); his wife Chantana Chatin, 50 (Ad); and their daughter Nichapa Wongsa, 18 (Noi). The three were the victims of a brutal killing and burial attributed to Pong’s gang.
The ceremony took place at Wat Khao Bunmee Dararam (also known as Wat Thung Kha) in the Huai Yai subdistrict of Bang Lamung district. Phra Khru Palad Theerayut Chotiko, or “Luang Phi X,” the temple’s abbot, led the monastic side of the rites. Local officials, police from Huai Yai station, administrators from Banglamung district, village headmen and a large number of residents attended amid an atmosphere of deep mourning.
Activities began at midday. Villagers offered food to monks and dedicated merit to the deceased family. Monks performed the Matika Bangsakun chanting. The three coffins were then moved to the crematorium. A likay folk performance troupe and a group of local housewives from Huai Yai subdistrict staged shows in front of the coffins before the cremation.
Temple staff planned to cremate the bodies one at a time, starting with the father, followed by the mother and then the daughter, allowing about three hours per body to facilitate separation of the ashes. The process was expected to finish in the early hours of the following morning.
Pranee Chatin, 68, mother of Chantana, said she still cannot accept what happened. Since the deaths of her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter she has been unable to eat or sleep properly. On the night the bodies were discovered she was at her home in Bueng village, Huai Yai, when her daughter called around 2 a.m. to say the eldest daughter’s body had been found. Immediately afterward a strong smell of decaying remains filled the area. Pranee believes her daughter’s spirit returned home.
“If her spirit can hear me, I want to tell her not to worry about her mother and siblings. Please go in peace,” she said. “I want Pong in particular of the suspects to receive the death penalty and have it carried out. Why keep causing suffering to villagers? If it were your own siblings treated this way, wouldn’t you feel pain? One person killed so many people. Why let him continue living?”
Prisna Blundell, 45, also known as Tukta, Chantana’s younger sister, thanked police, officials, the public, the abbot and all the monks who helped organize the funeral. Crowds of people, many of whom had never known the family, attended the four nights of chanting rites. She believes the victims’ family can sense the support.
“My sister would want the police to pursue the case against Pong to the fullest and for him to receive only the death penalty,” she said. “This is not just our family’s wish, it is the wish of everyone, so that the spirits of my sister, brother-in-law and niece can find peace and so the public can live in safety.”
Asked whether any spirits had appeared in dreams during the funeral, Tukta said none had. However, she described an unusual incident on the night of the Buddhist holy day, Aug. 6th. An employee who sold crispy pork for the late Chantana was sleeping while keeping watch near the three coffins when a large, heavy wooden bench that seats two people toppled onto him. No one else was nearby. Tukta believes the spirits of her sister and the family remain vengeful toward Pong.
Somnuek Chatin, 55, an uncle of the victims, said the family still cannot accept the tragedy and insists Pong must face the death penalty. He added that unusual events occurred at the victims’ home in recent days: dogs howled through the night. A hotel employee who rode past reported seeing a man standing and feeding dogs, behavior that matches Wichian’s known love of dogs and his habit of returning at night to feed them.
The cremation marked the formal farewell to the three victims as the community continues to demand justice.
