A desperate mother in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Buri Ram says that she ordered a large cage to be built in her house, in which to detain her drug-addicted son to prevent him from resuming the habit after several rehabilitation programs had failed and to protect herself and her property.
The unidentified woman told the media yesterday that her 42-year-old son first used drugs when he was 16 and had been in 10 drug rehabilitation centres since. Each time he was sent home, having ‘recovered’ from the addiction, he would start using again.
In addition to his continuing drug addiction, she complained that her son was also addicted to online gambling and often demanded money from her to gamble and to buy drugs.
On October 23rd, she disclosed that her son lost control when she refused to give him money, forcing her to ask public welfare officials to take him back to the drug rehabilitation centre.
Fearing for her own safety, were her son to be released back home again, she said she decided to have a cage built to keep him under control. She said that she was fully aware that she might be accused of breaking the law, but she had run out of ways to handle her troubled son.
Lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpetch, head of the Campaign for Social Justice Foundation, said that the mother could face a charge of illegal detention if she puts her son in a cage, even though it is intended for a good cause.
Local officials in Nang Rong district say that they will try to find a solution for the son, who is now back in rehab.
