Attempted rape: Security guard denies charges despite evidence

Police arrested an apartment security guard in the Isaan province of Surin for attempting to rape a 19 year old woman in her room. The suspect denied the allegation despite CCTV footage and his history of sexual assault.

The 19 year old victim, Tarn, urged ThaiRath and other news agencies to share her story, fearing she would not receive justice. She revealed that the security guard fled after the incident and the apartment owner would not cooperate with officers from Mueang Surin Police Station.

Tarn recounted the incident, which occurred on June 16 at around 4.50am, to ThaiRath. Tarn said she stayed at the apartment with her boyfriend but he was away when the incident happened.

The security guard entered Tarn’s room with a spare keycard. He stood beside her bed while she was sleeping and grabbed her hand to touch his body. Tarn later realised that the man was not her boyfriend, so she kicked him and asked who he was because the room was dark.

The security guard punched her in the stomach and face and pressed her on the bed, attempting to rape her. She screamed until the manager of the apartment, who lived next door, woke up and called her. The security guard heard her talking to the manager and fled from her room.

According to Tarn, she initially did not know that the suspect was the security guard due to the dark room and reported the incident to him. The guard returned to his duty as if nothing had happened and even returned to her room pretending to check on the incident.

Suspect defends himself

However, Tarn suspected the guard because of his body shape. She then called her boyfriend and asked him to report the matter to the police.

Her boyfriend returned to the apartment and asked to check the security cameras in the hallway and around the apartment but initially, the apartment owner would not agree to the request.

The owner eventually allowed access to the security cameras when police arrived. The footage clearly showed that the guard, later identified as 38 year old Jaturong Kantawong, was the suspect. Jaturong escaped from the apartment and went into hiding.

Following an interview with multiple news agencies, police arrested Jaturong at a company in the central province of Samut Sakhon on 28 June. Jaturong denied the attempted rape, claiming that he went to the victim’s room to help her.

He stated that the apartment manager had asked him to check on the woman. Upon knocking and entering, he found the woman naked. Shocked by the sight, he still decided to enter the room to inquire about the issue.

Jaturong told police that he came to Samut Sakhon not to hide from arrest but to work at a new company. He added that he was the one who called the police, questioning why he would dare to report the matter if he had committed the crime.

ThaiRath reported that Jaturong had previously stolen money from his employer and had a long criminal history of sexual assault cases.