Soldier allegedly sexually assaults woman on military premises
A woman sought help from a social media influencer after being allegedly sexually assaulted by a Sergeant in her home inside a military base in the central province of Kanchanaburi.
The victim reported the attempted rape to the police but they told her to report the incident to her army senior. She did that but was told off by her superior for sullying the military’s reputation.
The 34 year old victim, Oil, and her family then contacted a Thai social media influencer, Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet, aka Gun Jom Palang, to help spread her story.
Oil and Gun gave an interview to the media yesterday after they revisited the Lad Ya Police Station to follow up on the development of the case.
Oil said that the alleged offender, Sergeant Kittisak, was a powerful soldier because he was rich and knew many high-profile soldiers. She was scared that the police and her seniors will not deliver justice. She accused Kittisak of sexually assaulting many women in the military department but no one dared to complain.
Oil explained that the incident happened on the morning of August 24. She lives in a house on the military premises with her husband and child but was alone on the day of the assault.
The married mother of one believes Kittipong came to her house because he learned that her husband was away. He hugged her from the back and asked to have sex with her.
Oil threatened Kittipong that she would tell his girlfriend, but he didn’t stop. She tried to make a video to scare him off but it didn’t work. Kittipong just took off his clothes and tried to rape her.
As a last resort Oil told Kittipong she was on her period and told him to come back another day. It worked and Kittipong put his clothes on and left her house.
Oil reported the incident to her senior, who promised they would make Kittipong apologise and pay compensation but nothing happened five days after the incident.
Oil and her husband visited Lad Ya Police Station in Kanchanaburi province to file a complaint on August 29. However, the police officers refused to file the complaint and urged them to talk to the senior first.
The interrogation of Kittipong was postponed several times and the military service turned on Oil instead.
Pictures of Kittipong were circulating online at the time and Oil was blamed as the source. She insisted that she hadn’t shared any pictures, even the video that she recorded.
Oil said…
“I am worried because the offender is a soldier. He hasn’t come to work since the incident happened. He only came to the military premises when a senior invited him for questioning. The leaked pictures showed that he assaulted other women too, but the military only care about its reputation. The military focused on that and postponed my case. I am a victim, and my case is urgent too. I want justice and safety.”
Oil claims Kittipong had affairs with other women in the military camp and recorded videos that he showed to other soldiers.
The Superintendent of the Lad Ya Police Station, Techin Banjong, revealed that the suspect might face three charges, including:
- Section 276 of the Criminal Laws: Whoever has sexual intercourse with a woman, who is not a wife, against her will, by threatening, doing any violent acts, 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 fined of 8,000 to 40,000 baht.
- Section 278 of the Criminal Laws: Whoever has sexual intercourse with a woman aged above 15 years old, who is not a wife, against her will, by threatening, doing any violent acts, taking advantage of the woman being in the condition of inability to resist, or causing the woman to mistake him for the other person shall be imprisoned for up to ten years, fined up to 20,000 baht, or both
- Section 358 of the Criminal Laws: Whoever damages, destroys, causes the depreciation of value, or renders the property used or possessed for public benefit, shall be imprisoned for up to five years, fined up to 10,000 baht, or both.
- Section 364 of the Criminal Laws: Whoever enters or hides in a dwelling place, store-house or office under the possession of another person without reasonable cause, or refuses to leave such a place after having been told to do so shall be punished with imprisonment of up to one year, fined up to 2,000 baht, or both.
A Royal Thai Army spokesperson, Sirichan Nga-thong, today reported that the military acknowledged and investigated the case before it went viral on social media. The officers haven’t finished their investigation, but the victim was worried and brought it to a third person, Gun.
Sirichan said the Royal Thai Army has a fair policy and would provide justice. If anyone in the military was wrong, they would receive punishment according to the military rules and laws.
