Peek performance: Students nab half-naked pervert in petrol station

A group of Thai students last night managed to catch a half-naked pervert who fled after peeking at a woman in a bathroom at a petrol station in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum.

Officers from Mueang Chaiyaphum Police Station yesterday, August 26, were called to a road outside Chaiyaphum Wanaram Temple, where the group of students caught the alleged suspect, 27 year old Maethee. The man was seen wearing only a dark blue polo shirt, without trousers and shoes.

The temple was 500 metres away from the petrol station where the incident took place. The victim, 23 year old Rinlada, revealed to the police that she and her German husband had just returned from a holiday in Vietnam. They were driving home and stopped at the petrol station to use the bathroom.

While using the bathroom, Rinlada noticed Maethee peeping at her from the next room. She was frightened and ran out of the bathroom to meet two schoolgirls. She told them not to enter the bathroom as a pervert was inside.

According to the victim, Maethee ran out of the bathroom to escape, prompting her to ask the male students outside to chase after him.

Maethee pleaded his innocence. He told the police that he was drunk, riding a motorcycle home, and stopped at the petrol station to use the bathroom, just like Rinlada. He claimed he did not realise that the bathroom he used was designated for women.

The police conducted alcohol and drug tests on Maethee at the police station and found methamphetamine, also known as Yaba, in his system.

Maethee later admitted to taking four tablets of Yaba but insisted that he did not intend to peep at any woman in the bathroom. However, he was unable to explain why he felt the need to remove his trousers and flee if he had done nothing wrong.

In a similar incident at the beginning of this month, a group of men physically assaulted a Peeping Tom after he looked into the bathroom of a house in Phuket. The suspect denied the accusation and escaped from the scene, leaving behind suspicious items, including women’s underwear, condoms, a cucumber, and drug paraphernalia.