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He raped the girls, aged 13 and 15, after their mother died. The younger girl is now eight months pregnant while the elder is three months.

"We are talking to the girls' relatives because we are tak¬ing them into our care," Vechayan Annopporn of the Khon Kaen socialdevelop¬ment and human security office said yesterday.

After the girls' biological father died, their mother mar¬ried another man.

 called Muan Pacha.

After the mother died, the stepfather raped the younger of the two girls.

When she became preg¬nant, he raped the other girl. Vechayan said the girls would be admitted to a welfare cen¬tre and receive psychological rehabilitation.

Niem Yolao, the deputy vil¬lage head of Ban Phungern, helped the girls make a police complaint.

"Neighbours saw the girls getting increasingly bigger and asked what happened. After we found out, we took them to the police," Niem said.

KHON KAEN

The Nation