Thai man’s cheeky defence: Bottom grab was just a bit of dusting
A Thai man defended himself after grabbing a woman’s bottom, claiming he was not sexually assaulting her but simply trying to brush dust off her skirt.
The 17 year old female university student filed a complaint with the officers at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station, stating that a food delivery rider had sexually assaulted her at a coffee shop on Phon Phisai Road in Udon Thani province on May 27
Officers arrived at the coffee shop and found a group of male university students outside while the suspect, 35 year old Pom, was being detained inside.
The victim, Mind, told police she was ordering coffee at the counter when Pom touched her bottom. Shocked and unsure how to react, she ran out of the shop in tears and told her friends about the incident.
Mind and her friends later shared the story with the coffee shop owner and learned that Pom also harassed the owner by intentionally touching her hand when taking beverages. The owner added that she heard the rider shout at Mind.
“Come with me if you don’t want to study anymore.”
Mind filed a police complaint and returned to university. Later, she and her friend spotted the suspect delivering food near their university and managed to detain him. They took Pom back to the coffee shop to await the police.
During questioning, Pom claimed he did not intend to sexually assault Mind and was only trying to remove dust from her skirt.
The victim and officers were not convinced by Pom’s claim and pressured him to tell the truth until Pom eventually apologised to Mind.
Pom urged Mind to drop the charges, promising not to repeat his behaviour and explaining that he had to care for his sick mother. Mind agreed to drop the case but requested 2,000 baht in compensation from Pom.
Police also investigated Pom’s phone and found that he had been messaging many women online but none had responded.
