Jungle woman Rochom P'ngieng wants to return to the wild

**Bangyai** · 31-10-2009, 11:41 AM

Jungle woman Rochom P'ngieng wants to return to the wild

A Cambodian woman who spent 18 years living in a forest after going missing as a child has struggled to reintegrate in village life and wants to return to the wild.

By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok
Published: 5:24PM GMT 30 Oct 2009

Rochom P'ngieng spent 18 years living in a forest after going missing as a child Photo: AP

Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed "jungle woman" when she emerged in Feb 2007, has still has not learnt to speak and refuses to wear clothes.
Her father said she had been admitted to hospital after refusing to eat for a month and had made several attempts to return to the forest.

Sal Lou said: "Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle.
"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom."
Rochom P'ngieng disappeared in 1989 when she was eight years old while herding water buffalo in the province of Ratanakkiri bordering Vietnam, north-east of the capital, Phnom Penh.
Her parents had long given up hope of ever seeing her. But in 2007, she emerged from the jungle naked and dirty, hunched over like a monkey, and was caught trying to steal by a farmer.
She was said to have been scavenging food in the forest and could utter only unintelligible words. Sal Lou described the sounds she made simply as "animal noises".
The drama of her disappearance and unlikely reappearance gripped Cambodians who described her as "half animal girl" and "jungle woman", though there were also many questions raised about her identity and whether she could really have survived in the jungle.
But Sal Lou, a village policeman, embraced Rochom P'ngieng as he long-lost daughter after identifying her by a facial scar.
However, in spite of the family's best efforts, the woman has had great difficulty settling in after her years in the jungle.
Sal Lou said that she was admitted to Ratanakkiri's provincial hospital last Monday, but he had removed her because she was unsettled and the medical staff had difficulty preventing her running away.
"We have to hold her hand all the time (at the hospital). Otherwise she would take her clothes off and run away," he said. She has become so difficult that he wants a charity to take her into care.
At the hospital Dr Hing Phan Sokunthea said Sal Lou took her away against the wishes of medical staff. "We wanted to monitor her situation more, but we don't know what to do because the father already took her out of hospital."
The jungles of Ratanakkiri – some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia – are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the past.
In 2004, four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.

**Bangyai** · 31-10-2009, 11:43 AM

Interesting story been going on for some time now. Can't blame her for wanting to go naked in this heat. When I'm indoors thats how I roam. Might raise eyebrows in Tescos though.

**chitown** · 31-10-2009, 11:48 AM

Is she really from the jungle or captivity and abuse?

Cambodian jungle girl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After hearing about the incident, 45-year-old Sal Lou[3] (or Sar Yo[4]), who belongs to the Pnong ethnic minority[2] and works as a village policeman in Oyadao village, traveled to the area and claimed that the woman was his long-lost daughter. He last saw his daughter when she was eight years old; in 1988, she was lost in the jungle while tending water buffalo near the border to Vietnam.[5] Her six-year-old sister was lost on the same day and has never been found.[3] He identified the girl based on a scar on her arm, supposedly from a knife accident that occurred prior to the girl's disappearance,[5] and by facial features similar to those of her mother, Rochom Soy.[3][4] Though DNA testing was once scheduled, the family later withdrew consent[3] and the DNA tests never took place.[6]
A visiting Guardian reporter observed that the woman had deep scars on her left wrist and ankle, possibly from being held in captivity, as well as feet that did not look as if the woman had lived in the jungle for a long time. She was able to use a spoon without instruction. He called the claim that she was a feral child "almost certainly nonsense", stated that "beyond the family's ardent claims to recognise her, there is no evidence that she is the missing girl", and thought it more likely that she was "a girl brought up in captivity, who somehow escaped, and then found her way to a father who desperately wanted to recover something he had loved and lost."[1] Licadho, a human rights NGO, also believed she might have been a victim of abuse. The woman has marks on her arms that may have been caused by a restraint such as a rope. "We believe that this woman is a victim of some kind of torture, maybe sexual or physical," said Kek Galabru.[7]

**dirtydog** · 31-10-2009, 02:30 PM

**Chairman Mao** · 31-10-2009, 03:26 PM

^ "villagers from the ethnic tribe minority believe the woman is possessed by evil spirits of the forest."

That could become worrying. Fuk only knows what type of shit they could conduct in order to cleanse the village of them.

Prolly dig a 'lucky' hole to throw her down.

**StrontiumDog** · 31-10-2009, 03:36 PM

Certainly the scars on her wrists look like she was tied up. She isn't feral, that's for sure.

What's also odd is that at the age she disappeared her language skills should've been quite good and basic cognitive development of the various brain structures complete. You don't lose abilities like language, it is hardwired. However, if you never learnt to speak, then by age 5 it is extremely difficult to acquire language forever after.

She fits with someone locked up and held captive, isolated from the world. Not a jungle survivor.

**StrontiumDog** · 31-10-2009, 04:16 PM

I'm a forensic psychologist and specialised in psychopharmacology and neuroscience...amongst other things...

**StrontiumDog** · 31-10-2009, 04:20 PM

To add, whilst the unused parts of the brain diminish due to a lack of use, your first language is unlikely to completely disappear as hers appears to have done. Children twitter on when alone.

It's also highly unlikely she had zero contact with humans for 18 years...

**good2bhappy** · 31-10-2009, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

psychopharmacology

so what is your poison?

**Bangyai** · 31-10-2009, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

You don't lose abilities like language, it is hardwired. .

I'm not so sure. When I was 20 years old (32 years ago )I was a hospital porter and my girlfriend was a Filipino nurse. We were together 4 years.
One day, instead of writing a letter she managed to telephone her mother who lived on an island off Northern Luzon but was in Manila visiting her other daughter.
When she got off the phone she was in tears because not having spoken to her mother in 5 years she couldn't communicate with her in her mothers dialect so they had to use Tagalog in which her mother was not fluent.
I was surprised at this but she explained that since leaving the Philipines she had not heard or uttered a single word in that dialect in 5 years . Obviously she remembered a fair bit but not enough to communicate with ease .

**melvbot** · 31-10-2009, 05:55 PM

My son has only been in the UK for a few months and as he hasnt spoken any Thai for a while he quite easily forgets and struggles when speaking to mum on the phone. Thai was his first language.

I think after 18 years it would be quite plausible that she had forgotten how to speak.

**Stinky** · 31-10-2009, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by Bangyai

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

You don't lose abilities like language, it is hardwired. .

I'm not so sure. When I was 20 years old (32 years ago )I was a hospital porter and my girlfriend was a Filipino nurse. We were together 4 years.
One day, instead of writing a letter she managed to telephone her mother who lived on an island off Northern Luzon but was in Manila visiting her other daughter.
When she got off the phone she was in tears because not having spoken to her mother in 5 years she couldn't communicate with her in her mothers dialect so they had to use Tagalog in which her mother was not fluent.

Sounds like she was doing a number on you, I cant see how an adult can lose a mother tounge.
I'm asuming the mother talked in her natural dialect as the girl was growing up, why wouldn't she.

**English Noodles** · 31-10-2009, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by Bangyai

I'm not so sure. When I was 20 years old (32 years ago )I was a hospital porter and my girlfriend was a Filipino nurse. We were together 4 years. One day, instead of writing a letter she managed to telephone her mother who lived on an island off Northern Luzon but was in Manila visiting her other daughter. When she got off the phone she was in tears because not having spoken to her mother in 5 years she couldn't communicate with her in her mothers dialect so they had to use Tagalog in which her mother was not fluent. I was surprised at this but she explained that since leaving the Philipines she had not heard or uttered a single word in that dialect in 5 years . Obviously she remembered a fair bit but not enough to communicate with ease .

Sounds more like she was told her longtime Filipino boyfriend was killed in a motorcycle accident.

**English Noodles** · 31-10-2009, 07:40 PM

Stick the girl in the OP in a nice business suit and give her the keys to a mid range Toyota and she would make some farang ex-pat a great little wife.

**Rural Surin** · 31-10-2009, 07:49 PM

Got one sniff of modern civilised atmosphere, and.....

**English Noodles** · 31-10-2009, 08:23 PM

^It's Cambodia, you have obviously never been.

**Rural Surin** · 31-10-2009, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by English Noodles

^It's Cambodia, you have obviously never been.

One man's slum is another's paradise. No absolutes, Doodles.

**English Noodles** · 31-10-2009, 09:08 PM

No, you said modern civilised[sic] atmosphere, nothing to do with slums and paradise.

**dirtydog** · 31-10-2009, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Erco

Stick the girl in the OP in a nice business suit and give her the keys to a mid range Toyota and she would make some farang ex-pat a great little wife.

T shirt and shorts would be ok in Pattaya.

**Mid** · 28-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Cambodia's 'jungle woman' runs away from home
SOPHENG CHEANG
05/28/2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—A woman dubbed the "jungle woman" after emerging naked and unable to speak from the wilds of northeastern Cambodia three years ago has apparently fled back to the forest, her presumed father and police said Friday.

Sal Lou, who claims to be the father of Rochom P'ngieng, said she went missing Tuesday while bathing by a well behind their home in Rattanakiri province, nearly 960 miles (600 kilometers) northeast of Phnom Penh.

She is thought to be 29 years old.

"There is no sign indicating that her disappearance could be foul play. I am sure she went back to the forest," Sal Lou told The Associated Press by phone from the jungle area where he has been searching for her.

Rochom P'ngieng emerged from the jungle in early 2007, attracting attention when she was caught trying to steal food from a villager.

Sal Lou's family then said she was their daughter, who was 8 when she disappeared in 1988 while herding buffalo in a remote area.

However, the relationship was never proven, and it was not established how she could have survived in the wild for 19 years.

Some villagers suspected she was not Rochom P'ngieng, but someone else suffering from mental problems who had been lost in the jungle for a much briefer time.

Sal Lou said Friday he and his family members have searched for her for three days in several villages and in the jungle, but had no news from her.

"She tried several times before to leave home and live back in the forest but she could not. This time her wish came true." Mao Vicheth, the local police chief, said his officers have sent word of her disappearance throughout the community and were investigating to see whether she might have been kidnapped or murdered.

He said the case was a mystery but he did not believe she had been killed.

In October, Rochom P'ngieng was admitted to Rattanakiri provincial hospital for four days after falling sick, apparently suffering from mental illness.

yorkdispatch.com

**Chairman Mao** · 28-05-2010, 07:38 PM

Sal Lou, who claims to be the father of Rochom P'ngieng,

Surely one of those nice NGOs donated the funds for a DNA test or something.

Suppose bigger rims on the Hummer were more important.

**Simon43** · 28-05-2010, 08:19 PM

She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom."

Jeez, sounds just like my mad ex

Simon

**Bettyboo** · 28-05-2010, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by melvbot

My son has only been in the UK for a few months and as he hasnt spoken any Thai for a while he quite easily forgets and struggles when speaking to mum on the phone. Thai was his first language.

I think after 18 years it would be quite plausible that she had forgotten how to speak.

But, she'd likely (certainly?) pick it up again once immersed in the home language/place.

I spent 3 years with a Mongolian woman in London, she found it hard to speak to her parents on the phone too. Once in Mongolia, guess what: perfect in minutes...

If a very young child with limited knowledge/usage left their home environment and returned decades later, it'd be harder to (very difficult?) 'remember' the language, but their vocal chords, lips, tongue, palate, etc would immediately be able to speak words. The woman from Cambodia seems to of had an abnormal childhood because by eight years old she should be able to speak, and these abilities are physical; her face seems 'normally' formed, so she should be able to speak if the father's story is correct.

**ENT** · 28-05-2010, 11:09 PM

Is she still alive?

**jandajoy** · 28-05-2010, 11:22 PM

Cambodia's 'jungle woman' runs away from home

By SOPHENG CHEANG (AP) – 4 hours ago

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A woman dubbed the "jungle woman" after emerging naked and unable to speak from the wilds of northeastern Cambodia three years ago has apparently fled back to the forest, her presumed father and police said Friday.
Sal Lou, who claims to be the father of Rochom P'ngieng, said she went missing Tuesday while bathing by a well behind their home in Rattanakiri province, nearly 960 miles (600 kilometers) northeast of Phnom Penh. She is thought to be 29 years old.
"There is no sign indicating that her disappearance could be foul play. I am sure she went back to the forest," Sal Lou told The Associated Press by phone from the jungle area where he has been searching for her.
Rochom P'ngieng emerged from the jungle in early 2007, attracting attention when she was caught trying to steal food from a villager. Sal Lou's family then said she was their daughter, who was 8 when she disappeared in 1988 while herding buffalo in a remote area.
However, the relationship was never proven, and it was not established how she could have survived in the wild for 19 years. Some villagers suspected she was not Rochom P'ngieng, but someone else suffering from mental problems who had been lost in the jungle for a much briefer time.
Sal Lou said Friday he and his family members have searched for her for three days in several villages and in the jungle, but had no news from her.
"She tried several times before to leave home and live back in the forest but she could not. This time her wish came true."
Mao Vicheth, the local police chief, said his officers have sent word of her disappearance throughout the community and were investigating to see whether she might have been kidnapped or murdered. He said the case was a mystery but he did not believe she had been killed.
In October, Rochom P'ngieng was admitted to Rattanakiri provincial hospital for four days after falling sick, apparently suffering from mental illness.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

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