THAI MOTHER HIRED MAN TO KILL ADDICT SON - POLICE

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A woman in northern Thailand has confessed to hiring a
gunman to kill her policeman son to free him from drug addiction and rid
society of his drug trafficking, police said Thursday.

Supatra Chompoosri was arrested in Chiang Rai town shortly after police
arrested the gunman for killing her son Somsak Khamkaew, a 27-year-old
police sergeant.

Supatra faces charges of conspiracy to murder.

Police said she had confessed to hiring the gunman to kill her son because
Somsak was addicted to drugs and involved in amphetamine trafficking.

``I did this out of love for my son and my concern for society,'' an
officer quoted her as saying. ``I wanted the world to keep in mind that
drugs are very dangerous.''

Separately, a mother in the northeastern province of Udon Thani turned in
her 14-year-old daughter to police after catching her using amphetamines
despite a promise to kick the habit.

The Bangkok Post said the daughter, Kaew, was taken to a youth detention
center and her mother, Navaporn Lasongyang, had asked police to deny bail.

In the past two years, Thai police have been battling a flood of
amphetamines, mostly produced in neighboring Myanmar. The drugs, known as
``ya ba,'' or ``crazy pills,'' have become particularly popular with
teenagers and young adults.