‘Rape’ Case Woman Seeks Royal Pardon

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‘Rape’ case woman seeks royal pardon

BANGKOK: -- A Hong Kong woman who was imprisoned last year after being convicted of filing false rape charges said she had applied for a royal pardon but would not file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

So Liang Ying, 32, said she requested a royal pardon on the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday on August 12 after learning that she was one of 160 prisoners at the Central Women’s Correctional Institute who met the criteria.

The Criminal and Appeals Court sentenced So to oneandahalf years after she was found guilty of filing a false rape charge against tuktuk driver Tongbai Amahia.

The suspect, who has served 13 months of the sentence, said she would not fight the case in the Supreme Court.

So continued to insist she was raped and said she did not make up the story to damage Thailand’s reputation. She said the court did not believe her because she was accused of taking drugs in separate charges.

During the suspect’s trial, the doctor who examined her reversed his statement and said she was not raped, despite his earlier statement that she had been sexually assaulted.

So filed a report with Dusit Police Station on June 4 last year claiming to have been raped by a tuktuk driver on a footpath opposite the Parliament building. The woman, who claimed to be a freelance reporter, said she hired the tuktuk at Big C Rajdamri and fell asleep during the trip.

--The Nation 2004-08-04