A 37-year-old Thai woman and her son, a 12-year-old boy, were found shot in their apartment in Kirkenes, Norway, on 29 August 2016.
The police were called to the residential apartment on Sunday night by some neighbours reporting about disturbing noises coming from the apartment. The woman, Pimsiri Song-ngam, and her son, Petch Song-ngam had been shot in their home in the small town in northern Norway. Also a third person, Pimsiri Song-ngam’s Norwegian husband, was found in the house and was seriously wounded. The 37-year-old woman was dead when the police arrived while the two others were rushed to a hospital. The 12-year-old boy, a seventh-grader at the local Kirkenes elementary school, was later declared dead at the hospital, while the Norwegian man is still alive.
The police found no evidence that a fourth party had been in the family’s home. Therefore, they are now charging the Norwegian man with murdering both the woman and her son, both of whom were citizens of Thailand.
The woman had been to the local police station only one week before the shooting to clarify her son’s residence permission in Norway. Here she mentioned that she was planning to leave her Norwegian husband. The police believe that the pending divorce might be the reason for the shooting.
The incident has left the residents of Kirkenes shocked. The local church opened its doors for anyone wanting to gather there, and Petch’s school lowered their flag to half-mast on the day of the murder.
Now, the mother of Pimsiri Song-ngam is trying to get the bodies of her daughter and grandson home to their funeral in Thailand. In the hope of getting them home, she has now sought help from the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women. She has met with the foundation’s chairwoman, Paveena Hongsakul, who will contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Interpol in the hope of bringing back the bodies and to make them follow up on the investigation.
On publishing date, 1 September 2016, Ms. Paveena Hongsakul will take the mother to see the director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The hope is that they will start working on visa procedures for the mother and her son to travel to Norway to bring the bodies of Pimsiri and Petch Song-ngam back to Thailand.
The mother has previously tried seeking help from the Protection of Thai Nationals Abroad Division of the Consular Affairs Department, but they told her to wait due to the police investigation.
