Boy killed, chopped to pieces

       Shocked police have launched a massive manhunt seeking the murderer of a young boy who was brutally shot dead,beheaded and dismembered in Taling Chan district.
       The boy's body was found in several plastic garbage bags at 7am yesterday by Prathin Panhuab,60, a scavenger.
       Investigators and forensics experts rushed to the deserted Phiman housing estate in Soi Wat Intrawas off Ratchapruek road after Mr Prathin recovered from the shock of finding the body parts and phoned police.
       The head and limbs were found in separate bags, but police failed to find the boy's severed hands.
       They said there was a black birth mark on one of his shoulders. A hair extension was attached to the boy's head.
       Forensic experts believe the boy was killed about three to four hours before the body was found.
       Mr Prathin said he was riding his tricycle around the housing estate at about 6am before stumbling upon four plastic bags near a deserted house.
       When he opened one of the bags the head of the boy rolled out.
       Deputy Bangkok police chief Amnuay Nimmano said the boy was believed to be aged between four and six years old and was about 117cm tall. Investigators think he was a Thai national.
       The body sustained four gunshot wounds - one in the right cheek and through the head, another in the stomach through the back, and one shot in each arm.
       Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said the hair extensions on the head of the boy might be a valuable clue as they might be connected to "some kind of a show".
       The officer said the boy could have been shot before the parts of his body were cut off. He could have been shot in the arms first to torture him, and then killed with shots to the stomach and head. Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said the way the body was cut up was "not done by professionals".
       He said the killing might be linked to a family dispute.
       Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said the killer might have wanted to force an answer from the boy - or wanted to torture the boy to pressure someone who was related to the boy.
       The killer could have killed the boy when their demands were not met, Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said.
       Investigators from Metropolitan Po-lice Division 7 and from the Taling Chan police station are stepping up efforts to look for clues in areas within a one-kilometre radius of the murder scene. Video footage from security cameras near the scene is also being checked. Descriptions and pictures of the boy have now been distributed in the area.
       Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said the killer could have taken away the hands of the boy and dumped them elsewhere so police could not identify him by his fingerprints.
       Pol Lt Col Prasert Seetalasai, an investigator from the Taling Chan station,said initial inquiries found villagers in the area did not know the boy.
       There had been no reports of any missing children in the area when the murder took place, the officer said.
       Chatchawin Ra-ngabpai, a forensics expert from Siriraj Hospital, said the body of the boy was dismembered,with the legs and arms cut off by a sharp object.