Phuket Police promise progress in child rape case

PHUKET: Police expect to receive test results within the next two weeks confirming the rape of a 9-year-old girl, case investigator Lt Col Rassada Kluengwong of the Tah Chat Chai Police told the Phuket Gazette today.

The move is expected to clear the way for legal proceedings to be taken against the alleged perpetrator, a local shopkeeper in the north of Phuket.

“Police are still waiting for the test results to be forwarded from Thalang Hospital [which conducted the initial examination]. Doctors there sent samples to a laboratory in Bangkok to confirm that the girl was raped,” Col Rassada said.

“I called the hospital yesterday [November 12] to ask whether the results had arrived yet. They confirmed that the results will be forwarded to them within two weeks,” he added.

“When the hospital receives the results, they will let us know and we will attach the report to the case file to be sent to the prosecutor so we can continue with legal action,” Col Rassada explained.

The news that the 9-year-old girl was raped in Phuket broke when the girl’s mother filed a complaint accusing police of inaction in investigating the case.

Tah Chat Chai Police denied the allegation they were ignoring the complaint, saying that the suspect had already been charged and subsequently released on court bail.

— Chutharat Plerin