Krabi – A 58-year-old man got so stressed when his only son drew a red ticket in the military recruitment lottery which means he would now have to serve for two years that he hanged himself to death, Thai News Agency said today (April 4).
At 7 p.m. last night Klong Khanan police went to a house in the same subdistrict and found that Somphong Sae Bang had used a television cord to hang himself in his bedroom and died there.
His wife said that earlier she had accompanied their only son to the district office to join the military recruitment lottery leaving her husband alone at home. However prior to their departure he had told them and their neighbors that if his son has to serve in the military he would hang himself but she thought he was just joking.
Later he called them and found out their son had drawn the red ticket and upon her return home found that he had hanged himself. She added that he probably felt sad because they only had one son and his joining the military means there would be no one to take care of him.
According to a report published by Dawn.com, each April, around the time of Songkran, Thailand’s armed forces launch a search for healthy men aged between 21 and 30 years old.
Many of the places are filled by volunteers. The rest are drafted through a lottery that many hope to lose. By law all Thai men who do not volunteer for military service must attend the conscription lottery at least once after they turn 21.
Not everyone is eligible — recruits must be physically fit, at least 1.60 meters tall and with a chest size of 76 centimeters or more.
CAPTION:
Top: Young men sit on the floor during an army draft held at a school in Klong Toey, the dockside slum area in Bangkok in April 2015. Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters via Avax.news
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