Sanpeet (veleno)

Sanpeet Petnonnoi is a small, beautiful, unblemished, bronzed boy of seven years of age. As is not uncommon in the poor region of northeast Thailand - the ‘Golden Triangle’ - where he grows up, he makes a contribution to the housekeeping money. Sanpeet earns an income, and like him many other boys of his age, by kickboxing. The Thai government turns a blind eye to the matches in improvised boxing venues. Kickboxing was encouraged as a way of hardening young people against the temptations of opium and heroin, drugs that are produced and consumed in large quantities in this area. But the sport is pervaded by the odour of another addiction: gambling. The lower the weight of a boxer, the higher the stakes; this makes Sanpeet, with his sixteen kilos, an interesting opponent.