Relatives of Thai daycare massacre victims prepare for group cremation

Makeshift furnaces made of clay bricks were being built in the grounds of Buddhist temples in a town in north-eastern Thailand on Monday to cremate the bodies of the mostly young victims of last week’s massacre at a daycare centre by a former policeman.

Last Thursday’s gun and and knife attack on the Young Children’s Development Centre in Uthai Sawan left 36 people dead, including 24 young children. It was the biggest mass killing by an individual in the country’s history.

Phra Kru Adisal Kijjanuwat, abbot of the Rat Samakee temple, around two miles (3km) from the scene of the bloodshed, said 19 victims will be cremated in a group ceremony on Tuesday, bringing an end to a three-day mourning ceremony for the families.

He said the bodies will be cremated at the same time on charcoal-fuelled open-air pyres to spare the families having to wait long hours for successive ceremonies to be completed.

“We only have one furnace at the temple and we wouldn’t be able to cremate all victims at the same time, and I do not wish for any family to have to wait for a lengthy cremation process,” Mr Adisal said.

“After seeing their grief, I thought it would be better if we can hold the ceremony at the same time and that all relatives can go through this final stage of this painful event together,” he said.

The monk said temporary furnaces are also being installed at two other nearby temples to accommodate the remaining victims. He said five families have chosen to host their funeral services separately from the group ones.

Police identified the perpetrator of the massacre as Panya Kamrap, a police sergeant fired earlier this year after being charged with a drug offence.

A clear motive for the killings may never be determined after the 34-year-old took his own life, but police say they consider his financial and marital problems, as well as his history of drug use, to be factors.

He was cremated on Saturday in a neighbouring province after Buddhist temples in Uthai Sawan province refused to host his funeral, Thai media reported.