Actress’ rape complaint could expose political corruption in Thailand
A Thai actress sought the help of a celebrity lawyer after police repeatedly ignored her claims she had been drugged and raped by the nephew of a prominent politician.
The actress, singer, and songwriter made public the alleged rapist contacted her via Instagram to talk about work. They agreed to meet at a shopping mall on August 9 but at the last moment, the alleged offender switched the venue to a pool villa in Soi Nak Niwat 2 in the Lat Phrao district of Bangkok.
The artist said she drank two bottles of strong Korean alcohol called Soju at the pool villa with the man and passed out. She woke up, couldn’t remember a thing, and rushed home at about 2am.
The 21 year old discovered some vaginal discharge while taking a shower when she got home. The actress booked a health check at a hospital and the doctor confirmed the discharge was semen and that there was a hypnotic substance in her blood, possibly Rohypnol.
She contacted the man to ask about the incident and he allegedly confessed to drugging and raping her that night. He also threatened her not to file a complaint with the police.
The alleged victim ignored all of the threats and filed a complaint at Chok Chai Police Station on August 11 but was surprised by the attitude of the officers. She said they were rude and treated her badly and reportedly told her not to consult a lawyer.
Likewise, she ignored the police’s advice not to seek help and contacted celebrity lawyer Sittha Beerbangkird and he helped her file a fresh claim on Wednesday.
The alleged victim informed the media that the offender is a nephew of a former politician and knew many police officers. He worked in the entertainment industry and also had an import-export alcohol business.
The actress revealed the offender’s politician uncle contacted her offering money and guaranteed work in the entertainment industry if she dropped the charges. The uncle said his nephew was about to join a political party to help improve the country and this scandal would ruin his reputation.
The celebrity lawyer Sittha announced he would help his client get justice and prosecute the offender to stop him from assaulting other victims in the future.
“The acts of the police and that uncle clearly show that something suspicious and unfair has happened.”
The Superintendent of Chok Chai Police Station, Pornthawee Somwong, insisted that his officers would work transparently according to the investigative processes.
Poenthawee promised that the police would provide justice to both parties.
Yesterday, the media reported that Chok Chai Police Station had issued a summons to invite the offender to acknowledge the charges at the beginning of next week.
According to Thai law, Section 276: whoever has sexual intercourse with a woman, who is not his wife, against her will, by threatening, doing any violent act, taking advantage of the woman being in a condition of inability to resist, or causing the woman to mistake him for the other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of four to 20 years and a fine of 8,000 to 40,000 baht.
