Parents of Brit boy, 16, killed in ‘honeytrap murder’ in Thailand break down in tears at his funeral
PARENTS of the Brit boy who was killed in a “honeytrap murder” have broken down in tears at his funeral in Thailand.
The tragic scenes come amid a police probe into the murder of 16-year-old Woramet Ben Taota who was found battered to death last week.
Ben’s dead body was discovered by cops in a forest on May 7 after he was allegedly lured to the site and killed by 44-year-old Chaiwat Boongarin, who admitted to the murder.
But now his parents Steven and Ooy Graham have been left to pick up the pieces as they laid their son to rest today.
Pictures from the funeral showed the family totally devastated.
Ooy was brought to tears and was unable to stand at points in the ceremony as she said her final goodbye to her boy.
Steven was also seen soulless and shattered, overridden by grief as the man processed what was happening.
They were joined by family and friends as they led the emotional procession through the rural village of Banjua, near Lampang.
The youngster’s close friends were even seen revving dirt bikes as they paid homage to their pal before the traditional Buddhist cremation.
After the funeral, Steven told the MailOnline: “There’s a part of me that hates all of this.
“But in another way it helping me with my grief.
“All this is causing me is immense pain, I can’t eat and I can barely sleep.
“It’s pain beyond description.”
Earlier this week, the 60-year-old dad confronted Chaiwat during a chaotic crime reconstruction.
He had travelled from his home in East Sussex to the scene where Ben was allegedly killed.
Amid the horror, he shouted at Chaiwat: “scum, look at me, look at me in the eye, look at me in the eye you b*****d”.
Shaking with rage, he yelled at the killer: “Take his mask off, I want to see his face, You’re a coward. You’re a coward.
“F****** look at me you b*****d. No, you can’t look at me, you’re a coward. Look, look at me. You b*****d.”
It comes as Steven processes his son’s gutless murder, in which he claimed Ben was lured to meet his killer by a 15-year-old girl who had become hooked on methamphetamine pills.
The boy reportedly rode to the secluded spot on his scooter with the girl on the back.
Steven said: “Ben was lured to meet his killer in some kind of honey trap set by this young girl.
“She and Ben have known each other since they were young, they were close.
“But she is believed to have been in a relationship with this man Wat.
“He had recently been released from prison and it is clear he was a prolific drug dealer.
“He got involved with this evil man and it ended so tragically.”
The parents claimed Chaiwat was allegedly supplying the girl with drugs and Ben got involved because he was close to her.
Police also said the man was an alleged drug dealer who sold methamphetamines.
Cops had been searching for Suraphltchaya since the incident was reported.
The pair were last seen riding off together on Saturday night on Ben’s motorbike.
However, on Sunday morning the woman’s family identified her body at the scene from the braces on her teeth and the jewellery she had been wearing.
She was found just three miles away from where Ben’s body was discovered in the woods in northern Thailand.
According to local police, after Chaiwat was arrested he claimed Ben and Suraphltchaya were allegedly caught up in his drug dealing activities.
Mongkol Sampawapol, the commander of Lampang Provincial Police, said: “Police received intelligence gathered from the search operation about the location of the body.
“The suspect who admitted to killing the boy denies killing the girl.
“He says that somebody else attacked her and buried her body in the woods.
“We suspect that the suspect is responsible for both murders, however, police will also continue investigating the deaths to check if anybody else was involved.
“The female victim’s body is now being sent to hospital for an autopsy to find traces of rape or sexual assault, because the suspect has a history of these crimes.
“There were signs of bruising on her face and it is expected that she was hit with a solid object until she died.”
He is likely to face the death penalty if convicted of either of the alleged charges, it was reported.