A heartbroken mother appealed to the Paveena Foundation to coordinate with police to help find her biological daughter, who was switched by a babysitter and replaced with another child for three years. She learned the truth from messages sent by a mysterious woman.
At 2 p.m. on 7 May 2026, at Bang Lamung Police Station in Chonburi Province, Mrs. Paveena Hongsakul from the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, accompanied by Ms. Chanjira Thaibundit from the Chonburi Provincial Social Development Office, brought Ms. Joy (a pseudonym), 24, to meet Police Colonel Sarawut Nuchnarat, Chief of Bang Lamung Police Station. Ms. Joy requested help to find her 3-year-old biological daughter, who was raised from birth by Mrs. Wichuda or Som Sajja, now 32. Som switched the real daughter with another child when the baby was 5 months old and returned the other child to Ms. Joy, who raised her as her own. The police have arrested Som and she was sentenced to prison by the lower court but was released on bail pending appeal. However, Ms. Joy still does not know the fate or whereabouts of her real daughter. She wants her daughter back but is at a loss on how to find her. Som has kept the child's location secret, only claiming that a Myanmar couple took the child away, so Ms. Joy has appealed to Mrs. Paveena for justice and police assistance in recovering her real daughter.
Mrs. Paveena said she initially coordinated with Police Major General Pongpan Wongmanithets, Chief of Chonburi Provincial Police, who assigned Police Colonel Sarawut Nuchnarat, chief of Bang Lamung Police Station where the incident occurred, to expedite the search for the child. It is unknown whether the child is suffering or if this involves human trafficking. The investigation has two key points: first, to track the Myanmar couple Som claimed she gave the child to; if the child was indeed sold, it would constitute human trafficking and legal action must be taken against this couple.
The second point is for police to help find Ms. Ann, the biological mother who sent a chat message to Ms. Joy, claiming to be the real mother of the child Ms. Joy has been raising. The case gained clarity when Ms. Ann called Ms. Joy this morning asking what to do next. Police are urged to investigate the facts thoroughly.
This case began on 6 April 2026 when Ms. Joy, from Mukdahan Province, filed a complaint with Mrs. Paveena Hongsakul Foundation asking for help to find her real daughter born on 6 October 2022. Shortly after birth, she hired a babysitter to care for her daughter from birth until 5 months old. The babysitter returned a child without Ms. Joy realizing that it was not her own daughter. Ms. Joy continued to care for the child tenderly, believing she was her biological daughter.
When the child was 1 year and 6 months old (in 2024), a stranger messaged Ms. Joy on Facebook claiming to be the biological mother of the child she was raising. Shocked and stunned by the revelation, Ms. Joy was nearly overwhelmed and did not know the fate of her real daughter or where she might be. Later that same year, she reported the case to Bang Lamung police and pressed charges against the babysitter, Mrs. Wichuda or Som Sajja, now 32, for child abduction. The lower court has ruled on the case, and it is currently under appeal. Although the babysitter has been prosecuted, Ms. Joy has yet to find her real daughter and has sought help from the Paveena Foundation.
Ms. Joy admitted that her pregnancy in 2022 was unplanned and marked by conflicts with her boyfriend, leading to their breakup. She consulted a friend who introduced her to Ms. Som, who lived in a rented room with her husband and four children in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi. Ms. Som claimed to love children and promised to adopt Ms. Joy’s daughter after birth. Ms. Joy moved to live with Ms. Som in Chonburi for about 20 days before giving birth in October 2022. Later, she changed her mind about giving up her daughter and instead hired Ms. Som to care for her daughter for 8,000 baht per month while she worked as a construction laborer on site in Chonburi.
After Ms. Som had cared for the child for one month, she told Ms. Joy that a Myanmar couple wanted to adopt the baby because they had no children and offered 20,000 baht as a binding gift, but Ms. Joy refused to give up her daughter. She continued to leave the child with Ms. Som without concern, occasionally visiting her when free. When the child was 5 months old, Ms. Som suddenly returned the child to Ms. Joy, saying she needed to run an errand but never came back to take the child. Ms. Joy then left the child with the grandmother in Chachoengsao Province while she continued working. In May 2023, during a visit, Ms. Joy noticed the 7-month-old’s face looked different—darker and larger—and began to suspect the child was not hers. When she suggested DNA testing, the grandmother discouraged her, saying, “Don’t do it; accept that whoever the child is, just raise her.”
Ms. Joy said she did not think further until March 2024, when the child was 1 year and 6 months old, and Ms. Ann messaged her on Facebook, claiming to be the mother of the child she was raising. Ms. Ann asked, “How is my child? Is she mischievous? I want to see her face. Please send me pictures.” Ms. Ann also sent video clips of her daughter that Ms. Joy had previously given to Ms. Som as proof. Ms. Joy was shocked to learn from the chat that when her daughter was 5 months old, Ms. Som took Ms. Ann’s daughter, gave her 10,000 baht, and returned Ms. Ann’s child to Ms. Joy, impersonating her own daughter. Her heart broke and she was terrified to discover the child she had raised was not her own. She tried to contact Ms. Som to ask about her real daughter, but Ms. Som refused to disclose any information and blocked all communication channels, leaving her unable to reach her.
On 7 March 2024, Ms. Joy reported to Bang Lamung police. DNA tests showed no relation between her and the child she had been raising. Police arrested Ms. Som and charged her with child abduction. During questioning, Ms. Som claimed she gave Ms. Joy’s real daughter to a Myanmar woman named Mrs. Wan to care for and take for vaccination. The child disappeared with Mrs. Wan. Ms. Som was charged with abducting a child under 15 for profit. The lower court sentenced her to 10 years in prison on 19 March 2025 but reduced the sentence to 5 years after she confessed. Ms. Som was released on bail pending appeal.
Ms. Joy has been trying to find her real daughter for two years without success. She believes the Myanmar couple who took her daughter should also face legal action and urges police to locate and question them, as they hold the key to finding her daughter. She asks police to investigate thoroughly and hopes to be reunited with her biological daughter, even if the child has disabilities, promising to care for her.
Police Colonel Sarawut Nuchnarat, chief of Bang Lamung Police Station, said the case involving Ms. Wichuda or Som and Ms. Joy is currently in court, with Som already sentenced. Regarding Ms. Joy’s real daughter, police must start anew by locating those alleged to have taken her daughter. Som claimed she left the child with a Myanmar woman named Mrs. Wan for vaccination, but the child disappeared with her. The case will be reopened for thorough investigation. Som is on bail and has an appeal hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Police will intensify questioning to help find the child and reunite her with her mother.