Former RTN officer seeks justice after being jailed for 8 years on fake child rapist charge

A former Royal Thai Navy (RTN) officer is seeking justice after he was wrongly branded a child rapist by his ex-girlfriend and her daughter and jailed for eight years on the trumped-up charge.

The daughter recently revealed the truth because she alleges she is being abused by her mother. She wants her mother to face the music because of her wrongdoing.

Thian Boonying, a former petty officer first class at the Sattahip Naval Base, appealed to the non-profit organization Saimai Survive for support in his quest for justice.

The 61 year old recounted his story to the organization, which began in 2004. He had hired a maid named Sombat to clean his quarters at the Sattahip Naval Base. She later became his girlfriend.

Thian ended the relationship after six months because of Sombat’s drug use and despite her attempts to win him back, he refused.

Sombat then filed a complaint at the Phu Ta Luang Police Station, accusing Thian of raping her 13 year old daughter, Ampai.

Despite a physical examination showing no sperm but a tear in the girl’s genital area, Thian maintained his innocence and claimed that he had never met the girl.

He attempted to gather evidence in his defence but to no avail. Thian was sentenced to 24 years in a Chon Buri prison in 2015, which was reduced to 16 years due to his lack of prior criminal record.

A few years later, Thain received a letter from Ampai, via his former unit commander, confessing the sin of her and her mother.

Ampai, now 24, said in the letter…

“It was a false sexual assault. Everything I said wasn’t true. Sombat, who is my mother, forced me to blame the man. I was only 13 years old and innocent. I followed whatever my mother asked me to do. I wrote the letter to reveal the truth because my mother abuses me, and I cannot stand it anymore. I need the redemption.”

Thian tried to use the letter as evidence to get himself out of jail but the authorities refused to recognise it. He was eventually pardoned in March last year.

Thain persisted in his pursuit of justice. He exhausted his funds to retain legal representation and process the case.

Thain claims that he has lost everything, including his job and his worldly possessions, forcing him to take refuge in a relative’s home.

The public also branded him as a child rapist.

Ekkaphop Luangprasert, the founder of the Saimai Survive Organisation, announced that his organization would assist Thain by presenting all of the available evidence to the Ministry of Justice and urging them to interrogate Ampai thoroughly.