Phuket taxi rider denies sexually assault of German woman

A German woman filed a complaint against a Thai motorcycle taxi rider in Phuket, accusing him of sexual assault. The suspect denied the allegation, claiming that the foreign woman hugged him throughout the ride.

The victim, a 37 year old German woman, reported the sexual assault to the Mueang Phuket Police Station yesterday, February 26. The foreign victim said the incident took place when she took a motorcycle taxi from Chartered Bank Intersection to Foto Hotel on Sire Beach in the early hours of the day.

During the ride, the motorcycle taxi rider allegedly touched her genitals, forcibly grabbed her hand, and placed it on his penis. He also attempted to kiss her, prompting her to jump off the motorcycle. She suffered minor injuries and was shocked by the assault.

A passing Thai motorist came to her aid and took the woman to her hotel. She recounted the incident to hotel workers who later accompanied her to the police station to report the crime.

Police checked the CCTV cameras along the road and managed to identify the motorcycle taxi rider as a 19 year old man named Phongphat Khaithong.

The hotel workers reported to the police that the motorcycle taxi rider made a call to the hotel to ask about the route and handed his phone number to the police. Officers discovered that the number was registered by Phongphat’s stepmother, confirming the suspect’s identity.

Officers arrested Phongphat at his rented house yesterday and took him to the police station for questioning. The German woman was also summoned to the police station for the police lineup.

Suspect defends himself

The victim pointed at Phongphat, insisting that he was the suspect. She cried at all times saying she still could not accept what had happened to her. However, Phongohat denied the accusation.

“The German woman hugged me on the way, but I was concentrating on riding. She asked me to take her back to the hotel and I agreed. I didn’t know why, but she just said she didn’t want my services anymore. She said she would find other drivers.”

Despite the lack of concrete evidence of the sexual assault, the police believed the German victim’s account. Phonphat was charged under Section 278 of the Criminal Law: committing an indecent act to a person, aged over 15 years old, by threatening, doing any act of violence, or taking advantage of that person who was inability to resist. The penalty is imprisonment for up to ten years or a fine of up to 200,000 baht, or both.

This incident echoes a similar case in Pattaya, where a Thai man attempted to rape a Chinese woman during a ride from Chon Buri to Pattaya. He allegedly attempted to murder the victim by setting fire to the incident scene and leaving her to die.