4 days ago
Boy, 4, caught smoking under a Bangkok bridge sent to government-run shelter, Asia News
A 4-year-old boy in Bangkok was caught smoking under a bridge, a Thai Facebook user shared last month.
In the video, the child is seen sitting on the stairs with a cigarette resting between his index and ring finger, exhaling smoke and smiling widely.
The video has since amassed over eight million views.
The boy has since been placed under temporary care of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security due to the unsafe living conditions caused by his parents' homelessness, reported Thai portal The Thaiger.
The parents have been homeless for over a year, and the child has been living with them for that duration, Thai media reported.
In the video, the man is seen asking the child to throw the cigarette away. "Don't touch it again. Absolutely no more smoking, no. Give it to me. I'm going to tell your father."
He takes the cigarette away from the boy, stubbing it out.
The man wrote in his Facebook post: "If he were older, I wouldn't have intervened because I've been through that myself when I was young."
He shared that his own parents had both smoked, and he did the same.
"The boy is the same," the man said in the post.
His hashtags shared his concern for the boy.: "This clip is posted to warn your children" and "only four or five years old".
The last frame in the video shows the boy's parents resting under a makeshift shelter. They appear to be homeless.
According to the Thai portal, a social media influencer, Guntouch Pongpaiboonwet, sent his team to locate the boy's parents.
When asked about the video on Facebook, the father said: "My son was probably just copying the teenagers. There were some teenagers loitering around."
The parents had said earlier they do not smoke.
The boy's mother added that her husband was suffering from health problems, leaving him unable to work.
She is the sole breadwinner, often selling fish caught from a nearby river, but her earnings are not enough to make ends meet.
The family started living under the bridge because they cannot afford to pay rent and have been relying on charity groups for meals, reports said.
The parents added they plan to enroll their son in a school soon.
The boy has two siblings who are living with relatives in other parts of Thailand, the parents said.
According to Tobacco Control Laws, the legal age to buy and use tobacco products in Thailand is 20 years old.
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