Teacher Held For Child Assault Hangs Himself In Police Cell

[Lite Beer]

Teacher held for child-rape kills self

By The Nation on Sunday

A former physical education teacher hanged himself while in police custody in Lampang yesterday, police said.

Phayonsak Udom, 58, a former teacher at Ban Nayang School in Sop Prap district, was reportedly a suspect in the rape of a girl and fled the province to avoid a subpoena. A warrant had been issued for his arrest for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old female student, police said.

He was arrested at an apartment in Pathum Thani province and later remanded in custody at Thoen police station in Lampang.

Police said Phayonsak used a blanket to hang himself inside the prison.

Police claimed stress, shame and fear of punishment prompted the suspect to take his own life.

-- The Nation 2011-09-11

[chooka]

It is hard to have sympathy for pedophilles.

[dave_boo]

B@stard took the coward's way out.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Seems to be a little more to this story than what is said here.

The teacher and girl where living together

The mother did the reporting and the girl did not go along with it and wanted it dropped

The mother was wanting Money from the teacher

Seems the full story has a different slant on things.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Scott
spelling

[elgato]

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

[Nisa]

Police claimed stress, shame and fear of punishment prompted the suspect to take his own life.

So, the police knew he was suicidal but kept him in a cell all alone and that provided him the means to kill himself?

I always am always a bit skeptical of stories of people who take their own lives while in custody regardless of the country. The fact the police feel a need to play psychiatrist and put forward unsubstantiated claims as well as all of a sudden Thai jails being single occupancy cells and providing blankets adds to the this skepticism.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Nisa

[Atmos]

and out come the TV 'hang 'em high' posse.

Never let facts . . . etc

If post #4 is correct, rather a different story.

We had two men within 10km of our former home, one UK, one US, whose wives were greater than a 43yr age difference younger.

But that is entirely ok, to be applauded, in some circles here.

[bushwacker]

"We had two men within 10km of our former home, one UK, one US, whose wives were greater than a 43yr age difference younger.

But that is entirely ok, to be applauded, in some circles here."

I think the issue is the age of the girl. 15 not acceptable.

[gregb]

According to my wife this story is being reported differently in the Thai news.

According to her recount, the teacher and the student were in love, and had been living together consensually for years. The parents were distressed over the situation, and had been repeatedly advised by the village elders not to press the issue as that would only make the daughter run away.

Apparently, the parents eventually decided to play hardball, and the teacher left to go live in Pathum Thani. The girl chased after him voluntarily. The parents then decided to have him arrested, and he killed himself.

The Thais don't necessarily have the same view of underage sex as we do in the West. In my wife's village, there are currently 3 girls that she knows of ages 13-15 that are living with their "husbands" who are in their 20's and 30's. My guess is had the man simply not been so old this would have been a non story.

As it is, this guy exercised extremely poor judgment, but hearing the alternative version of events I think it is not correct to condemn the man, and I think the English language papers have been irresponsible in their reporting of the story. At 58, he should have more sense than to enter a relationship with one of his underage students, but culturally he didn't do anything that was truly out of the ordinary. He was just too old when he did it. I would guess he had some emotional problems, but the girl was also a willing participant, and the parents did have choices of how to proceed.

This is a sad story that will stay with this poor girl for the rest of her life. I doubt she will ever be able to restore her relationship with her parents given what they did and how things turned out. As a parent with a young daughter myself, this kind of thing really worries me. Exactly how do you deal with a situation like this so it doesn't destroy everyone's life?

[Mario2008]

I wil not comemnt on the age part, but I think that you will find that a teacher having an affair with a student is culturally not accepted in Thailand.

[AbdulJabaar01]

It is actually quite simple to commit suicide in hold cell / jail in an uncivilized country. Most civilized countries, if a person is a suspect Suicide risk. Then everything is removed from the cell. Blankets, persons belts, etc. But, I am not a correction officer and fairly unclear about the correct procedures in this manner. This is Thailand .

I figured that someone wanted him dead and not be able to testify in a court of law.

[geriatrickid]

I wil not comemnt on the age part, but I think that you will find that a teacher having an affair with a student is culturally not accepted in Thailand.

Bingo.

Position of authority allows all sorts of exploitation scenarios, hence the reason why it is forbidden.

[DP25]

If post #4 is correct, rather a different story.

Not really, he's a criminal either way

[slapout]

In this case the newspapers seem to play to the background of their readers. Some societies seem to condemn the teacher and see the young girl as the innocent oppressed , whose parents are out for justice farang style, locals may see it in a completely different light. If, as reported they were demanding a monetary settlement, not forthcoming, so they proceeded to take revenge on the man, it may be that two different attitudes are coming into play.

Besides being a can of worms which only those directly involved know the complete story (less one of the principals) its sounds like a village circle jerk, which is not that uncommon.

I have seen similar circumstances, plus the selling of young teenage daughters by their fathers, tom boy and girl friend shacked up, a victim of incest and the village people handle it in their own way, without the police being involved. In most cases, the village sanctions which came after the fact, changed nothing (other than a physical move) which seems to have happened in this case.

[Nisa]

I think the issue is the age of the girl. 15 not acceptable.

The basic age of consent in Thailand is 15 years old .... whether right or wrong morally, it is legal.

[softgeorge]

and out come the TV 'hang 'em high' posse.

Never let facts . . . etc

If post #4 is correct, rather a different story.

We had two men within 10km of our former home, one UK, one US, whose wives were greater than a 43yr age difference younger.

But that is entirely ok, to be applauded, in some circles here.

There is a huge difference between children and having a much younger wife.

[DP25]

I think the issue is the age of the girl. 15 not acceptable.

The basic age of consent in Thailand is 15 years old .... whether right or wrong morally, it is legal.

Not at all legal, age of consent is 18.

[Nisa]

I think the issue is the age of the girl. 15 not acceptable.

The basic age of consent in Thailand is 15 years old .... whether right or wrong morally, it is legal.

Not at all legal, age of consent is 18.

You should really do some research before you state incorrect facts .. the basic age of consent is 15-years old in Thailand with some exceptions such as prostitution and a 15-year old can change her mind about the consent after the fact but the bottom line is no matter what age or sex you are, it is legal to have consensual sex with a 15-year old.

Could you be prosecuted for having consensual and non-paid sex with a person under 18? Yes, if authorities determines it is obscene sex but the law is clear that it is legal to have sex with a consenting 15-year old.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Nisa

[Nisa]

Section 277 of The Thai Penal Code: "WHOEVER has sexual intercourse with a girl not yet over fifteen years of age and not being his own wife, whether such girl shall consent or not, shall be punished with imprisonment of four to twenty years and fined between Bt8,000 to Bt40,000. "If the commission of the offence according to the first paragraph is committed against a girl not yet over thirteen years of age, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of seven to twenty years and fine of Bt14,000 to Bt40,000 or imprisonment for life. "If the commission of the offence according to the first of second paragraph is committed by participation of persons in the nature of raping and/or murdering a girl, or by using weapons or explosives, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for life."

http://www.samuiforsale.com/Law-Texts/thailand-penal-code.html

[DP25]

No, it is 18. You can get married at 15 with parental permission. You can absolutely be prosecuted for having sex with any under 18 year old if you are not married. What this man did is 100% criminal, and had he not killed himself he should have gone to jail.

[Nisa]

No, it is 18. You can get married at 15 with parental permission. You can absolutely be prosecuted for having sex with any under 18 year old if you are not married. What this man did is 100% criminal, and had he not killed himself he should have gone to jail.

He was arrested for rape and kidnapping and nothing to do with age of the girl ... you might want to check the link I provided above to the Thai Penal Codes.

See: TITLE IX

OFFENCE RELATING TO SEXUALITY

Marriage and sex are two different things. As for marriage you actually need parent consent if under age 20. You also need to be at least 17-years old to marry in Thailand if you don't have an order from the court.

Simply stating what you think is fact doesn't make it fact.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Nisa

[jimbeam1]

The lagal age limit in Thailand would appear to be an massive can of worms as in 15 or 18 yrs old.

I was under the opinion that it was 15yrs as long as parental consent was obtained?

Personally I think the age difference should be a guiding factor. For myself I wiould say 21yrs is sadly far to young.

jb1

[Mario2008]

Nisa is corect.

One becomes an adult in thailand at the age of 21. (And presumably when one get maried also becomes an adult).

From the age of 17 one can get married, but must have permisison from the parents. If the parents refuse permisison, the court can give permission instead. A marrrriage before the age of 17 is also possible, but only with permission from the court. There is no minimum age for that.

The age of consent is 15 in Thailand, but consent can be withdrawn afterwards.

Thailand also has laws against keeping a minor away from its parents.

[Lite Beer]

Thai teacher accused of repeatedly raping young student kills self

By BNO News

BANGKOK (BNO NEWS) -- A former physical education teacher accused of repeatedly raping one of his young students over a period of four years was found dead in his cell in northern Thailand on Saturday, local media reported on Sunday.

Phayon Udom, 58, had been accused of repeatedly raping a student over a period of four years, starting when the victim was 11-years-old. He reportedly used video footage of the first rape to blackmail the girl into having more sex and not telling her parents or authorities.

Phayon was found hanging from the bars of his cell in a police station in Lampang Province on Saturday morning, according to a report . Police said the suspect, who had been detained alone, tore a blanket into strips and used it to hang himself.

According to the report, the mother of the victim first filed a police complaint against Phayon in 2010 and accused the teacher of repeatedly raping her daughter, starting when the girl was 11 and a student of his. As a result of the complaint, Phayon was fired from his job and arrested on a rape charge, but was later released on bail.

Last month, however, the girl went missing from her home and later called her mother to ask her to drop the complaint against Phayon. Police spotted the girl on Friday as she was out to buy food in Pathum Thani province, where she and Phayon were staying in a rented apartment.

The former teacher was later taken into custody on the rape accusations and kidnapping, although it was not immediately clear if the girl - now 15 - had left voluntarily with Phayon. A police official said that an initial examination of the girl found no traces of a physical assault.

The age of consent in Thailand is 15.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-11

[DP25]

No, it is 18. You can get married at 15 with parental permission. You can absolutely be prosecuted for having sex with any under 18 year old if you are not married. What this man did is 100% criminal, and had he not killed himself he should have gone to jail.

He was arrested for rape and kidnapping and nothing to do with age of the girl ... you might want to check the link I provided above to the Thai Penal Codes.

You might want to read further too, as it provides penalties for offenses aged 15 to 18 they can charge you with as well. The fact is they can and do prosecute for having sex with 15-18 year olds in Thailand, in cases that have NOTHING to do with prostitution, kidnapping, rape etc. Just look at the dude from Big Ass, received a fine and a 2 year suspended sentence for having sex with a 16 year old. If you think you can get away with sleeping with an under 18 year old you are not married to you are in for a very big surprise if the authorities take an interest in you.

[Buchholz]

"We had two men within 10km of our former home, one UK, one US, whose wives were greater than a 43yr age difference younger.

But that is entirely ok, to be applauded, in some circles here."

I think the issue is the age of the girl. 15 not acceptable.

and 11 is really not acceptable...

Phayon Udom, 58, had been accused of repeatedly raping a student over a period of four years, starting when the victim was 11-years-old. He reportedly used video footage of the first rape to blackmail the girl into having more sex and not telling her parents or authorities.

[jimbeam1]

The lagal age limit in Thailand would appear to be an massive can of worms as in 15 or 18 yrs old.

I was under the opinion that it was 15yrs as long as parental consent was obtained?

Personally I think the age difference should be a guiding factor. For myself I wiould say 21yrs is sadly far to young.

jb1

I just checked the link provided. A tad confusing if you had a late night as I did. But It certainly would seem that 15yrs is the legal age as long as both parties concent?

jb1

[Buchholz]

Perhaps all the age of consent discussion can be resolved by a communal agreement that his alleged raping of an 11 year-old falls outside any acceptable age.

.

[jimbeam1]

Perhaps all the age of consent discussion can be resolved by a communal agreement that his alleged raping of an 11 year-old falls outside any acceptable age.

.

Raping someone of any age is not acceptable.

jb1

[Buchholz]

Perhaps all the age of consent discussion can be resolved by a communal agreement that his alleged raping of an 11 year-old falls outside any acceptable age.

.

Raping someone of any age is not acceptable.

jb1

I agree. I was being thrown off by discussion that girl now being 15 year old somehow made it more acceptable.

/

Edited September 11, 2011 by Buchholz