Scottish Tourist's Sexual Assault Claim Disputed: Thailand

[webfact]

UPDATE

Thai man arrested for sexually assaulting Scottish woman

BANGKOK, Feb 20, 2013 (AFP) - Thai police said they had Wednesday arrested a man for the rape of a 20-year-old Scottish woman who had hoped to work as an English teacher in the Southeast Asian country.

The 25-year-old Thai suspect was arrested at his house in the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat based on evidence from closed circuit television cameras and witness accounts, officials said.

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

The suspect was remanded in prison. If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to 40,000 baht ($1,340), Sompong said.

The victim told police she was raped by two of four men who attacked her after leaving a bar in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday.

In an interview with Scottish media, the victim criticised her treatment by the police and Thai media, who have published her name and photo along with articles questioning her account of the incident.

"The police and authorities are very humiliating, their whole system has let me down -- they're making out that I was some drunk idiot and it was my fault, which was not the case," broadcaster STV quoted her as saying.

Thailand's image as a tourist paradise has been tarnished in recent years by concerns about a string of violent crimes against foreigners, as well as episodes of deadly political unrest and devastating floods.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-02-20

[Beetlejuice]

And for what ever twisted statistics are in your head there are 10X AS MANY WOMEN THAT DID NOT REPORT A SEXUAL ASSAULT BECAUSE THEY FEARED the repercussions etc. Police collect evidence and present it to the Prosecutor's office,

POLICE ARE NOT JURIES OR JUDGES AND SHOULD NEVER ACT AS ONE! If a guy can be kept in this country for 3 years because of false claims of property damage and countless appeals. This women deserves at least one day in court, and if she is lying then it will come out and dealt with then.

So what`s the problem? I am in total agreement with you.

My points are that what this woman has stated should not be taken as fact in the first instance, firstly by the Western media because this happened in Thailand and second, all the parties concerned are entitled to a fair hearing with the evidence being properly investigated by the police.

This occurred in Thailand and as usual the Western media is going to be bias against the alleged rapists and should be taken with a pinch of salt. If these guys did brutally rape and assault this woman, with proof beyond any reasonable doubt, than in my opinion they should receive the death penalty, but if the said woman is proven to have fabricated this whole story in order to try and protect her own reputation and at risk of ruining the lives of innocents, than she should receive a long prison term.

I don`t give a rat`s behind about Western opinions where the females word is gospel, this incident occurred in Thailand and I believe in justice for all, the same as you.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Beetlejuice

[sbk]

Is this enough??

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

[transam]

Is this enough??

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

AND, if it his ''stuff'', case closed.

Me, still angry at her ''boyfriend''. What an asshol_e.

[NoshowJones]

Verdict.

"It wasn't rape, she was that drunk she slipped and landed on their cocks"

"Twice"

If that was the case there would be very little room to land.

[harrycallahan]

Is this enough??

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

The examinations can confirm that intercourse took place, not that the intercourse was rape. Even the existence of trauma doesn't rule out consensual sex.

The fact that the word "rape" is being thrown around rather loosely tells me that I should be skeptical of what exactly the alleged offender has admitted to. Also add "lost in translation" issues and the fact that we're not dealing with the world's finest police force.

I can't rule out from this that consensual sex had taken place.

IMO, looking at everything that has been reported, it was likely she was raped.

[mrtoad]

So the apologists have now gone quiet

[NanLaew]

Please desist from bashing women who 'cry rape' and defending men that chose to have sexual intercourse with an intoxicated female. Any man that shags an intoxicated woman assumes all risk and isn't much of a man IMHO. Consent given or received while under the influence of drugs or alcohol doesn't hack it as a defence. Regardless if he is intoxicated as well, or a friend of the victim or even married to the victim, it's just not cricket... as well as being pretty unmemorable (especially if you are drunk).

[theajarn]

Sounds like a cover-up to me. Who wants to guess that one or all of the scumbags involved are connected? I mean it's not like you don't have sons-of-high-ranking-policemen shooting other people point-blank in the face as if it were going out of style. I like the initial reports though: where they practically call the scumbags "little naughty boys" whilst pretty much slandering the girl as a "f*ing drunk whore". The international news tells it differently. I wonder who we're going to believe?

[harrycallahan]

Please desist from bashing women who 'cry rape' and defending men that chose to have sexual intercourse with an intoxicated female. Any man that shags an intoxicated woman assumes all risk and isn't much of a man IMHO. Consent given or received while under the influence of drugs or alcohol doesn't hack it as a defence. Regardless if he is intoxicated as well, or a friend of the victim or even married to the victim, it's just not cricket... as well as being pretty unmemorable (especially if you are drunk).

I've done it stacks, had great sex with drunk women, and will continue to. You've just accused most people of being rapists.

[cornishcarlos]

Attention seeking, bu#%#%^*ing, drama queen...

[cornishcarlos]

Attention seeking, bu#%#%^*ing, drama queen...

The guy that "confessed" that is...

[Pimay1]

Not quite sure what happened to the editing of my previous post, it went small automatically.

Mine goes small quite often. I always call the old GF when it goes large.

[theajarn]

Gang rape is a dramatic accusation, but I really dont think it happens very often. False accusations of it seem to, though.

Can you post some links? I can't seem to 'Google' to confirm...

[BradinAsia]

Is this enough??

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

The examinations can confirm that intercourse took place, not that the intercourse was rape. Even the existence of trauma doesn't rule out consensual sex.

The fact that the word "rape" is being thrown around rather loosely tells me that I should be skeptical of what exactly the alleged offender has admitted to. Also add "lost in translation" issues and the fact that we're not dealing with the world's finest police force.

I can't rule out from this that consensual sex had taken place.

IMO, looking at everything that has been reported, it was likely she was raped.

Am I missing something here?

Surely you noticed that the rapist already confessed to the crime.

And you still talk about consensual sex? And doubting the girl?

I won't comment on your rational thought processes.

[simple1]

Gang rape is a dramatic accusation, but I really dont think it happens very often. False accusations of it seem to, though.

Can you post some links? I can't seem to 'Google' to confirm...

large-scale study was conducted in Australia, with 850 rapes reported to the Victoria police between 2000 and 2003 (Heenan & Murray, 2006). Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the researchers examined 812 cases with sufficient information to make an appropriate determination, and found that 2.1% of these were classified by police as false reports. All of these complainants were then charged or threatened with charges for filing a false police report

More stats at http://en.wikipedia....usation_of_rape

EDIT: No break down on allegations of gang rape

Edited February 20, 2013 by simple1

[therealmrbrightside]

Seems quite sad how even after a confession, people on here are still venting anger and distrust of the victim and her circumstance. What a bunch of heartless bastards.

[harrycallahan]

Is this enough??

"He confessed that he raped her twice," provincial city police commander Colonel Sompong Thiparpakul said by telephone.

"Medical examinations confirmed that she was raped," he added.

The examinations can confirm that intercourse took place, not that the intercourse was rape. Even the existence of trauma doesn't rule out consensual sex.

The fact that the word "rape" is being thrown around rather loosely tells me that I should be skeptical of what exactly the alleged offender has admitted to. Also add "lost in translation" issues and the fact that we're not dealing with the world's finest police force.

I can't rule out from this that consensual sex had taken place.

IMO, looking at everything that has been reported, it was likely she was raped.

Am I missing something here?

Surely you noticed that the rapist already confessed to the crime.

And you still talk about consensual sex? And doubting the girl?

I won't comment on your rational thought processes.

You know it has been reported that an alleged rapist has confessed to the crime.

You do not know that an alleged rapist has confessed to the crime.

You also know that it has been reported that a medical examination confirmed that she was raped. That's obviously BS because a medical examination cannot confirm that.

ipso facto, don't believe everything you read.

[Kilgore Trout]

Ok thanks for the clarification and I am shocked by there not being and rape-shield laws here either. I do not like it when some-one falsely accuses someone of rape and destroys an innocent persons life, but even with these rape-shield laws, a small fraction of sexual assaults and rapes are reported by the victim, it would be significant lower without them.

It appears others are taking up this issue too... http://asiancorrespo...-student-media/

Not only named her but they also ran a picture of her with her student ID card.

Great link; I especially like the Thai response:

It is unfortunate that this lapse of ethics occurred. Our concern is not only for Thailand but also other countries in the region where colleagues have noted similar lax in observing ethical standards. It is important for the media not to further traumatise the survivor, that the role of the media is to report and expose the issue, but to protect the dignity of the survivors”. The media needs to understand that ethical responsibility is part of human rights.`

Pathetic, trying to shift the blame, typical Thai crap.

Why can't they ever take responsibility or at least say they will do better

[A_Traveller]

Allowing for the "fact" that none of the posters know more [presumably] than that they have read or gleaned from the net, what is happening here?

The lady is not only not give the benefit of the doubt but is frankly treated in a manner redolent of a Witch-Finder General.

Presently the claims and counter claims make the situation unclear, however given the potential legal punishment and subsequent publicity the concept that the lady is automatically "making it all up" is at best unpleasant.

There is now a report that an alleged perpetrator has been taken into custody and has confessed to his part in the attack.

This would seem to be an appropriate moment to take a step back and await developments, wouldn't it?

/edit typo//

Edited February 20, 2013 by A_Traveller

[maxme]

I´m a bit fuzzy on which bars she visited as to my knowledge there are but a few popular bars and night clubs in NST. Most of these are avoided by the westerners as there is drama each and every night, ranging from small brawls to knife/gun fights.

Yet when someone gets stabbbed or shot, it doesn´t even make the newspapers.

NST used to be run by several familes, now it's down to a few but still a gangster town and quite dangerous. It's not the first time something like this happens and surely won´t be the last (unfortunately). People should really take heed to safety precautions... don´t walk alone when you are on the sauce, especially if you´re a girl.

[transam]

But unadvised holiday makers come to the Land of Smiles for a noooooooooooo problem GREAT holiday, but for many of us the LOS is really the same as where they come from. More should be done by tourist operators or THEIR government to point out the risks.

[maxme]

But unadvised holiday makers come to the Land of Smiles for a noooooooooooo problem GREAT holiday, but for many of us the LOS is really the same as where they come from. More should be done by tourist operators or THEIR government to point out the risks.

As I mentioned earlier, NST is a rough place but then again this could happen anywhere... for some reason, London comes to mind.

[Kilgore Trout]

But unadvised holiday makers come to the Land of Smiles for a noooooooooooo problem GREAT holiday, but for many of us the LOS is really the same as where they come from. More should be done by tourist operators or THEIR government to point out the risks.

It has been done before; and what is the Thai response; "You are tarnishing the name of Thailand"

[chooka]

Gang rape is a dramatic accusation, but I really dont think it happens very often. False accusations of it seem to, though.

Can you post some links? I can't seem to 'Google' to confirm...

large-scale study was conducted in Australia, with 850 rapes reported to the Victoria police between 2000 and 2003 (Heenan & Murray, 2006). Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the researchers examined 812 cases with sufficient information to make an appropriate determination, and found that 2.1% of these were classified by police as false reports. All of these complainants were then charged or threatened with charges for filing a false police report

More stats at http://en.wikipedia....usation_of_rape

EDIT: No break down on allegations of gang rape

Not all of these complainants were charged with making a false report. I can assure you that 150%. There was a direction from command not to charge women for "make false report" in rape allegations and they considered it discouraged actual victims from coming forward. This was during a period where violence against women was the flavour of the month. I was pissed off because i worked on an alleged rape case for 4 weeks and wanted to charge a woman with false report.

[webfact]

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Thai man accused of sexually assaulting a foreigner

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police have charged a man who confessed to trying to have sex with a drunken foreigner in Nakhon Si Thammarat with rape.

The alleged victim, however, failed to identify him at the Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat Police Station. She showed up with her boyfriend.

The 20-year-old woman lodged a rape complaint and gave her testimony to police. She is scheduled to leave Thailand tonight. Her case received huge media attention, with several foreign news agencies also reporting her case.

Nakhon Si Thammarat Police chief Maj General Ronnapong Saikaew interrogated the suspect, Pongpat Posoy, by himself in a bid to solve the case.

Pongpat finally confessed to the crime. His close friend witnessed the whole incident and also gave a similar account to police.

Pongpat told police that he spotted the victim in the wee hours of February 15 at a bar, which he frequented, and initially approached her to help because she had sustained a knee wound. He said he felt a sexual urge during the intimacy and followed her to the second floor of the bar.

The suspect said he then attempted to have sex with her twice but claimed she did not resist his advances.

The suspect and his friends said the woman kept repeating, "Ok. Good".

Pongpat claimed he did not ejaculate. Ronnapong said the sexual attacks took place between 3.14am and 3.45am.

"We will wait to see the results of a physical examination by doctors," he said. He said the results would be able to identify whether the semen found on the alleged victim belonged to the alleged victim's boyfriend or her alleged attacker.

The alleged victim initially told police that four men gangraped her but the ongoing police investigation to date has yet to find any evidence to support her claim.

Police were able to trace Pongpat because recordings from a security camera showed he was following her.

The victim had reportedly come to Thailand to apply for a teaching job.

-- The Nation 2013-02-20

[transam]

But unadvised holiday makers come to the Land of Smiles for a noooooooooooo problem GREAT holiday, but for many of us the LOS is really the same as where they come from. More should be done by tourist operators or THEIR government to point out the risks.

It has been done before; and what is the Thai response; "You are tarnishing the name of Thailand"

Sure your right but..............

[laislica]

But unadvised holiday makers come to the Land of Smiles for a noooooooooooo problem GREAT holiday, but for many of us the LOS is really the same as where they come from. More should be done by tourist operators or THEIR government to point out the risks.

We should recommend that would be travellers go to YouTube and search on Trouble in xxxxxx

Where xxxxxx is the name of the country they intend to visit.

It is the nature of the beast when away on holiday to leave the sensible head behind and firmly bolt on the Holiday Head.....

A holiday Head also allows the wearer to carry out acts that they would not dream of doing in their home country - maybe that's one of the major benefits of a Holiday Head.

It might make more sense if there is always a bunch of people travelling together and that someone stays sober to take care of the rest of the group.

Like the "Designated Driver" in their home country?

But dream on, people are always going to be foolish, especially the young and inexperienced.

There but for the grace of God etc. etc.

[Pimay1]

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Thai man accused of sexually assaulting a foreigner

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police have charged a man who confessed to trying to have sex with a drunken foreigner in Nakhon Si Thammarat with rape.

The alleged victim, however, failed to identify him at the Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat Police Station. She showed up with her boyfriend.

The 20-year-old woman lodged a rape complaint and gave her testimony to police. She is scheduled to leave Thailand tonight. Her case received huge media attention, with several foreign news agencies also reporting her case.

Nakhon Si Thammarat Police chief Maj General Ronnapong Saikaew interrogated the suspect, Pongpat Posoy, by himself in a bid to solve the case.

Pongpat finally confessed to the crime. His close friend witnessed the whole incident and also gave a similar account to police.

Pongpat told police that he spotted the victim in the wee hours of February 15 at a bar, which he frequented, and initially approached her to help because she had sustained a knee wound. He said he felt a sexual urge during the intimacy and followed her to the second floor of the bar.

The suspect said he then attempted to have sex with her twice but claimed she did not resist his advances.

The suspect and his friends said the woman kept repeating, "Ok. Good".

Pongpat claimed he did not ejaculate. Ronnapong said the sexual attacks took place between 3.14am and 3.45am.

"We will wait to see the results of a physical examination by doctors," he said. He said the results would be able to identify whether the semen found on the alleged victim belonged to the alleged victim's boyfriend or her alleged attacker.

The alleged victim initially told police that four men gangraped her but the ongoing police investigation to date has yet to find any evidence to support her claim.

Police were able to trace Pongpat because recordings from a security camera showed he was following her.

The victim had reportedly come to Thailand to apply for a teaching job.

-- The Nation 2013-02-20

This article stinks like ten day old fish. In my opinion the truth is definitely not being told.

[harrycallahan]

Told you so?

"rape confession" becomes "attempt to have unresisted sex with her" which she was alleged to have enjoyed.

The amount of contradictory/revised reporting already should have been a good hint.

The suspect said he then attempted to have sex with her twice but claimed she did not resist his advances.

The suspect and his friends said the woman kept repeating, "Ok. Good".

Pongpat claimed he did not ejaculate. Ronnapong said the sexual attacks took place between 3.14am and 3.45am.

-- The Nation 2013-02-20

Edited February 20, 2013 by harrycallahan