A grieving British father believes his vulnerable son was caught by a ruthless drug dealer in Thailand – and then lured to his death in a honey trap.
Successful businessman Steven Graham furiously confronted the killer of his son Woramet Ben Taota this week as police staged a reconstruction of the murder in the jungle outside of Lampang in the north of the country.
And today the horror got worse when police found the body of the tragic 15-year-old Suraphltchaya Khamsa, who was last seen disappearing into the jungle on the back of Ben Taota’s blue moped.
Mr Graham, 60, fought back tears and yelled: “Look me in the eye you asshole!” at suspect Chaitwat “Wat” Boongarin as police held him back.
The boy, whose father knew him as Ben, was found beaten to death in a wooded area outside the remote northern Thailand village where he grew up with his Thai mother.
This week Web traveled to Lampang to visit Steve and Ben’s 50-year-old mother Ooy at the spacious home where Ben grew up and which Steve, who divides his time between the UK and Thailand, often visited.
Woramet Ben Taota, 16, (pictured) was found in a grove in Lampang, Thailand, on Sunday after being brutally murdered
The heartbroken parents of 16-year-old Woramet Ben Taota, who was killed on Sunday, believe their vulnerable son has fallen into the clutches of a ruthless drug dealer in Thailand
This week Web traveled to Lampang to visit Steve (left) and Ben’s 50-year-old mother Ooy (right) at the spacious home where Ben grew up. Pictured: The distraught parents are holding precious photos of their beloved son
In an exclusive interview, the couple spoke about the agony of losing their only child, but also the enduring mystery surrounding his brutal and previously unsolved murder.
Because while Thai police have arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of Ben’s murder, they are still reconstructing how he was killed.
The parents revealed how police believe Ben was lured into meeting his killer by a 15-year-old girl who became addicted to methamphetamine pills.
Ben had gone to the remote location on his scooter with the girl in the back seat.
Steve, who runs a company that insures thatched properties, wiped away tears as he told Web: “Ben was lured to his killer in some sort of honey trap set by this young girl.”
“She’s only 15. She and Ben have known each other since we were kids.” They were close.
“But it is believed that she was in a relationship with this man, Wat.”
“He had recently been released from prison and it is clear that he was a prolific drug dealer.” A very bad man.
According to Thai police, sex crimes convict Chaiwat Boongarin (pictured in handcuffs being led by police), 44, said he hit 16-year-old Woramet Ben Taota with a stick when a drug deal went awry. Police took him to the woods where Ben’s body was found for a crime reconstruction
Steven Graham, a businessman who traveled from his home in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pictured wearing a blue T-shirt and glasses as he approached the police car parked near where his son’s body was found (in the picture).
Pictured: Ben’s mother, Ooy Taota, is prevented by a police officer from getting to her son’s killer, who is not pictured. Boongarin showed the police the scene of the crime
“Wat was supplying them with drugs.” Somehow, Ben let himself in for him. That’s because the girl was involved.”
The girl’s whereabouts were unknown for days, but police in Thailand confirmed today that her body had been discovered buried in a wooded area just off the main north-south highway near Lampang.
READ MORE: The body of a 15-year-old girl accused of luring a British boy to his death in Thailand has been found in the woods
Suraphltchaya Khamsa (pictured) had been linked to the 44-year-old convict as part of a twisted honey trap
Her parents and grandparents identified her body at the scene from the braces and jewelry she had been wearing. They broke down in tears when it was revealed that their daughter had been murdered.
Police are now interrogating sex crimes convict Chaiwat Boongarin, 44, who has allegedly admitted killing Ben but denies murdering Suraphltchaya, whose nickname was Ping Pong. If convicted in one or both counts, he likely faces the death penalty.
Steve also explained how earlier this week, just hours after flying from the UK to Thailand, he faced Ben’s alleged killer, a convicted sex offender and drug dealer who was released from prison just eight months ago.
In the bizarre encounter, which took place on Tuesday during a police re-enactment at the spot where Ben is believed to have been killed, Steve, who had gotten off a plane just a few hours earlier, saw Chaiwat Boongarin yelling and berating in front of television cameras. The shocking drama of those few minutes has him reeling.
“I’m usually very English and reserved about my feelings and anger,” he says.
“But after spending that long flight from the UK thinking about my beloved Ben, the situation just grabbed me. I used some terrible words. It just flowed out of me.’
But as he and Ben’s mother struggle to process the loss of their son, they are determined to understand what happened to him. You want to know the truth.
“I have a dead son who suffered terrible injuries,” he says. “I don’t need to know exactly how he died. But for his mother, the details matter. She needs to know what happened. This will bring her closure.’
Steve Graham and Ooy Taota stand outside their family home in Thailand, where a photo of Ben hangs for well-wishers to pay their respects
Ben as a child, pictured with his now heartbroken mother Ooy Tontan, 50
Successful businessman Steven Graham furiously confronted his son’s killer this week. Pictured: Ben as a child with his father
Ooy, who understandably has a hard time speaking without breaking into tears, adds, “To me, Ben was everything.” He was my heart, my soul. I gave him everything of me.’
This week Web spoke to Thai police and the family of the girl named Pong to recap the events leading up to Ben’s death.
Pong’s family said before her body was found that the young teenagers, who have known each other since childhood, were at her home in Banjua village on Saturday night.
“The last time I saw her was on Saturday night. “Pong was here with Ben and then they got a call and they left,” says Pong’s grandfather, 60-year-old rancher Charoon Annaeua.
Moments later, the couple was caught on video footage riding a turquoise moped that belonged to Ben’s mother. It was the last time Ben and Pong were seen alive.
“When they didn’t come back, I called them,” says her grandfather. “The last time I called was on Saturday night at midnight.”
The next morning, a local recycler who collects glass, plastic bottles and cans for sale along a winding country road less than four miles from the village discovered Ben’s body and called the police. They believe he was murdered elsewhere by his killer, who then tried to hide the teenager’s body in the bushes.
Pong’s body was sent for an autopsy to find signs of rape or sexual assault, police confirmed.
Ben grew up with his Thai mother in the remote village in northern Thailand
Ben as a toddler, pictured with his mother, Ooy Tontan. She told Web: “He was my heart, my soul.” I gave him all of me.
There were signs of bruising on her face and it is believed she was beaten with a solid object until her death.
At 7am UK time on Sunday morning, Steve received a call from a family friend in Thailand to say his son was dead.
“Everything turned gray,” he says. “In my darkest hours, I was afraid the phone would ring and say Ooy that Ben was in a motorcycle accident.’ But not that.’
Thai investigators theories include that Ben was involved in a drug deal and that he was lured to his death in the forest.
His alleged killer was a methamphetamine pill supplier. Known locally as “yaba,” a Thai word meaning “crazy drug,” users face up to 20 years in prison.
Steve doesn’t know how his son came to this man: “Wat was a prolific drug dealer.” A very bad man. He supplied Pong with drugs. Somehow Ben got involved with him. Ben was 16 and did stupid things like all boys. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said, “Don’t do that” or “For God’s sake take care” or “Be careful with girls.”
He bursts into tears before adding, “Ben was polite and very charming and handsome, but he was also naive, like all 16-year-olds.” They do stupid things. He got involved with this bad man and it ended so tragically.’
The horrifying events of the past week are a far cry from the joy that surrounded Ben’s birth in 2006.
The grove where Ben’s body was found in the bushes by a street cleaner
Suraphltchaya Khamsa, known as Pong, who had been dating Ben on Saturday night
“The last time I saw her was on Saturday night. “Pong was here with Ben and then they got a call and they left,” says Pong’s grandfather, 60-year-old rancher Charoon Annaeua (pictured with his wife).
Steve, who recently divorced, met Ben’s mother, Ooy, while visiting a British friend in Thailand in April 2000.
“Ooy worked in a hotel and we got along well,” he says. “I went home and we stayed in touch. Back then, you couldn’t send text messages and nobody really used the internet, so we faxed each other letters.”
After selling his company, he decided to continue his relationship with Ooy.
“I was 40 years old. “I thought I’d rather be in Thailand with Ooy,” he says. The couple bought land in Ooys village and spent £20,000 building their home.
“I used to wake up at the crack of dawn, go out into the fields with a cup of coffee to smoke my first cigarette, and I was like, ‘This is perfect,'” recalls Steve. He divided his time between the UK and Thailand over the next few years, spending around four months each year in Lampang.
After four years together, when Steve was 45 and Ooy was 35, the couple decided to have a baby.
“My father wasn’t a very nice man, so when Ben was born I swore to myself that I would be the complete opposite of my own father; kind, considerate, caring.’
As a toddler, Ben’s blonde hair made him stand out among his young playmates.
Steve, who recently divorced, met Ben’s mother, Ooy, while visiting a British friend in Thailand in April 2000. Pictured: The couple with Ben as a baby
As a toddler, Ben’s blonde hair made him stand out among his young playmates
“People stopped in the street and stared at him,” says Steve. “He was a cheeky little boy. He stood out from the crowd.’
As soon as he could walk, he kicked a ball. His parents bought him a Manchester United jersey.
“We used to say to him, ‘You’re a little Beckham,'” adds Steve.
Ben attended a local school but grew up speaking both English and Thai thanks to his father. Steve and Ooy came to the conclusion that he would be better off living in his mother’s country.
“They had a better life in Thailand,” says Steve. “Why bring them to the UK?” “I could give them a much better life here by working in England and living in Thailand.”
But mother and son came to visit. When they first came when Ben was a baby, Steve lived in Sudbury in Suffolk.
“It was so cold,” says Steve. “To be honest, Ooy didn’t really like it. “We drove to Wells-next-the-Sea to go to the beach, but after the beaches of Thailand, Ooy wasn’t impressed.”
Ben’s mother describes her beloved son as a “happy, cheeky little boy”.
Ben attended a local school but grew up speaking both English and Thai thanks to his father. Pictured: Steve and baby Ben
Ben’s mother describes her beloved son as a “happy, cheeky little boy”. Pictured: Ben and his mother Ooy
“When I was expecting him, I wondered what he would look like,” she says. “After he was born, I held him all night. He was just like Steve.
“And after he was born, he was Steve’s number one. He gave him everything.’
She paints the picture of a dutiful and loving son: “When I was upset, he hugged and cuddled me.” “He helped me with the work in the fields or around the house and even tried to cook dinner when I was exhausted.”
But Ben’s dream, his parents say, was to work with motorcycles. An avid rider and a member of the Sop Prap Motorcycle Club, he won multiple motocross trophies and hoped to one day open his own motorcycle repair shop.
“We prepared a piece of land for the future location,” says Ooy. “We wanted to build it after harvest.”
All those plans for the future vanished when Ben’s parents found out he was dead.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive after the funeral,” says Ooy. “Maybe I have to leave this house.”
Thai police say their prime suspect, Chaiwat Boongarin, has admitted killing Ben but has yet to say what happened to Pong. Instead, he claims someone else attacked her and buried her body in the woods.
Suraphltchaya Khamsa’s distraught grandfather, 60-year-old farmer Charoon Annaeua, at the spot where she was found in a shallow grave just off the highway
Rescue workers wrapped up the body and took it to the hospital for forensic examination
A source told Web that killer Wat led officers to Suraphltchaya Khamsa’s tomb
According to Steve, “He denies having anything to do with her disappearance in order to save himself.” If convicted of Ben’s murder, he faces a life sentence. But if he is convicted of killing two children, he will be executed. They do it by shooting a firing squad here.’
He wasn’t sure what to expect before he first saw his son’s alleged killer.
“I thought he was intimidating, but he looked like a poor Thai farmer,” he says.
“It was so strange to see him like that.” It’s the way they do things here.
“He will never see the light of day again.” He will either die in prison of old age, be killed there, or be executed. He deserves everything he gets. He’s a waste of breath.’
For now, Steve and Ooy try to focus on the practicalities surrounding Ben’s tragic death. Ben had a 16-year-old girlfriend, Yam, who was also heartbroken. Steve and Ooy plan to take her shopping and buy her a gold bracelet to commemorate him.
Then there’s Ben’s funeral on Monday, something they dread despite being determined to pay tribute to their son.
Buddhist monks come to the family home and pray for their son before carrying his body to a holy site for cremation.
“We will do whatever we can for Ben with grace and style,” says Steve. But his voice falters and he shakes his head in despair over what he has lost.
“It’s just a waste of a young life,” he says. “Ben brought me so much joy and I loved him so much.” When I first came here, I thought this place was paradise. “I never imagined that something so terrible could happen here.”