Thai MP’s friend accuses police of demanding bribe in rape case
A friend of the Thai MP accused of raping a Taiwanese woman said police officers demanded a 400,000 baht bribe to make the case go away.
Chiang Mai Police Station officers last week revealed to the public that a Taiwanese woman filed a complaint against Thai Progressive Party MP Chaiyamphawan “Puaut” Manpianjit for raping her on January 9 at a hotel in Chiang Mai province.
The MP has been previously accused of rape once before, leading him to be removed from his former party, the Move Forward Party (MFP). He then moved to work with the Thai Progressive Party where he was once again faced the same accusation.
Several news agencies shared the CCTV footage at the bar showing Chaiyamphawan and two women, suspected to be Taiwanese tourists, drinking together. Chaiyamphawan and the woman in a black shirt, who was allegedly drunk, seemed close to each other.
More footage revealed Chaiyamphawan walking with the two women to their hotel. He was seen holding hands with the woman in the black shirt. The security camera in front of the hotel showed Chaiyamphawan left the hotel alone about 20 minutes after his arrival.
Alleged bribery
Since the story broke, Chaiyamphawan has not yet come forward to clarify his side of the story with the public. Only his team members and a friend stepped forward to defend the MP that he had been defamed.
Recently, a friend of Chaiyamphawan, who prefers to remain anonymous, told the media that the MP went to Chiang Mai Police Station to acknowledge the charge in January due to the summon warrant.
The friend claimed that police encouraged Chaiyamphawan to pay 400,000 baht to officers to end the case and block it from going to any Thai news agencies. However, Chaiyamphawan did not pay the bribe and agreed to go along with the investigation and court proceedings.
The friend said the MP’s refusal led the police to issue an arrest warrant against Chaiyamphawan and reveal the matter to the public.
The friend insisted that the Taiwanese woman consented to the sexual activity, so it was normal that the medical certificate submitted to the police would show traces of sex.
Counter suing
The friend also insisted that Chaiyamphawan was not drunk on the day of the incident. He also dared the media or police to recheck with the bar whether he ordered any alcohol or not.
The friend added that the MP had not yet stepped forward to speak with the public because he is worried that the public would not believe his words.
The superintendent of Chiang Mai Police Station, Pratchaya Thitla, expressed his disbelief that his superiors would dare to extort money from the MP.
Pratchaya urged the MP and his friend to hand evidence of the extortion over to officers at the police station and so he could investigate the matter.
The superintendent insisted to punish police officers who were involved in the bribery. However, if the accusation from the MP’s friend was proved to be false, Chiang Mai Police Station would take a legal proceedings against the man.
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