Woman accuses famous durian shop owners in Thailand of brutal rape and assault
A woman filed a complaint with the police claiming her employers raped and brutally assaulted her but the police refused to investigate the claim. The police advised both parties to settle the matter amongst themselves.
The couple, who run an online durian business in the Pluak Daeng district in the central province of Rayong named Mon Thong Durian, Online Fruit Vendor by Mr Dam (ทุเรียนหมอนทอง ผลไม้ออนไลน์ by นายดำ), became famous last year after paying staff 50,000 baht five-month bonuses as a new year gift.
The shop gained popularity and positive feedback from Thai netizens due to their generosity, particularly toward durian lovers. They also held activities that offered customers a chance to win free fruit.
The reputation of the couple and their shop appears to be in tatters, now the 22 year old victim reported the rape and vicious assault to the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive. The young woman was left with no choice but to expose her story to the public after police officers refused to process her case.
The male employer allegedly raped the victim at a work camp nearby the shop on January 4 when his wife was not home.
Five days later, the alleged rapist’s wife learned about it. She was furious with the victim and attacked her, stripped her naked, cut her hair, stuffed her in a durian sack, and continued to beat her.
But that’s not all. The attacker’s wife recorded herself hitting the victim’s genitals with wooden and iron sticks. She then instructed other employees to tie the victim to a pole in a volleyball court and leave her exposed to the sun.
The victim gave an interview with Channel 3 yesterday. She said…
“She threatened to shoot me. She shouted, ‘Just the life of one woman, I can handle it. The case is easy to hide.’ She did not shoot me but tied me up under the sun from 6am to 9am. I begged my colleagues to let me go, or at least let me call my boyfriend. They finally let me use their phone, and my boyfriend and aunt came to help me out.”
The victim’s aunt, named Khom, told the reporter that…
“We escaped through the backdoor and rushed to Pluak Daeng Police Station, even before going to the hospital. The police noted our complaint about the attack but did not act on the rape complaint. They urged us to resolve it on our own.”
Sanook reported that the case was reported to Deputy Commissioner Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn of the Royal Thai Police, who discovered no progress on the case and complained about the working processes at Pluak Daeng Police Station.
Big Joke promised to follow up on the case and issue arrest warrants for the couple and their employers involved.
