in Thailand, a Thai father filmed himself killing his 11-month-old daughter and uploaded it on Facebook. He then took his own life. The video of the brutal killing on Facebook was accessible on the killer's profile, and had been for approximately 24 hours. It was only taken down at 5 PM Bangkok time, a day after it was uploaded.
A Facebook spokesman based in Singapore sent an email to Reuters condemning the act. He was quoted as saying that the horrible incident has no place on the social networking site. He also reiterated that the footage was already taken down, and sent his condolences to the victim's family.
It can be recalled that the company said the previous week that it was evaluating its process of monitoring violent videos and other offensive materials being uploaded on the site. This was made following the fatal shooting incident in Cleveland, Ohio. The video remained visible on the site for two hours before it was finally removed.
The disturbing video from Thailand exposed Wuttisan Wongtalay fastening a rope around his daughter's neck before releasing the baby. The footage showed Natalie clothed in a bright pink dress and her father on a rooftop of what appeared to be a deserted building in a town of Phuket.
Domestic violence
According to Jullaus Suvanin, the police officer handling the case, the actual suicide of Wuttisan was not broadcasted, however, his dead body was found beside his daughter's.
The officer added that Wuttisan was suffering from paranoia of his wife not loving him and eventually leaving him. Jiranuch Triratana, Natalie's mother, said that they had been together for a year. The man started to be violent and sometimes even hit the woman's 5-year-old son with her previous husband.
Triratana added that on Tuesday, she was worried when she discovered that Wuttisan took Beta (Natalie's nickname) with him.
She tried looking for them. She said that she was afraid he might hurt Beta even though she knew that he loved her.
Video taken down
On Tuesday afternoon, Thailand Ministry of Digital Economics contacted Facebook and asked for the removal of the videos upon receipt of a request from the police department. Somsak Khaosuwan, the spokesman of the ministry, was quoted saying that they will not press charges against the social networking site because the company is only acting based on their procedures. Before it was taken down, the disturbing videos recorded a total of 370,000 views. The first video was viewed 112,000 times while the second was viewed 258,000 times.
