SPECIAL WEB EDITION
"I will never leave her in the car again," Akradej
The police father of the six-year-old girl who was sleeping in his pickup truck when it was stolen on Tuesday night said that the incident caught him off guard since the vehicle was parked at a police station and within his sight.
Pol Sgt Akradej Makhasen, 35, said he left the vehicle's engine running and the airconditioner on to let his daughter, Namfon, sleep comfortably. What seemed to be a big mistake he made, however, was that he also left the doors unlocked.According to the policeman, it was common for him to let his child sleep in his pickup on the parking lot of Lat Krabang's police station while he was working a night shift there and while his wife was selling food from a push cart about 40 metres away. Akradej said while the man who stole his pickup was driving it through the city streets late on Tuesday night, his daughter soundly slept through and was not aware what happened. "Even after they stopped the vehicle and took the thief away, she was still sleeping. I did not tell her about the incident since I did not want to scare her," he said. Akradej, a policeman for 12 years, said he had to help his wife, Pathumwan, 26, run a food hawking business outside his police service hours to make extra money to supplement his small salary. His wife has been selling Esan (northeastern-style) food from a push cart at night near the police station for four years. The couple live at an apartment about 10 kilometres from Akradej's worklplace. They have two children. Namfon's 18monthold brother now lives with Pathumwan's parents in the northeastern province of Surin. "I can't say how glad I am to have my child and car back. I will never leave her in the car again. I will likely have to ask a neighbour to help look after her while I and my wife go out to work," he said. Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong The Nation
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