Rapist caught in the act on Patong Beach

PATONG: A 19-year-old woman from Ayuthaya was raped on Patong Beach last Friday night. Pol Maj Sa-nguan Muangtam of Kathu Police Station said that at about 11 pm on April 21, Wanchai Teanprarooyai, a 33-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, reported that a girl was being raped in a tent toward the north end of the beach near Loma Park. Police went to the area and heard the woman screaming for help. In the tent, they found the victim and 25-year-old Suchart Atuman. Both were completely naked. Suchart, a beach chair attendant from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, later confessed that he raped the woman. Wanchai told the police that he and the victim had been talking when Suchart came to ask them to join him for a drink on the beach. Wanchai said that at about 10:30 pm he playfully dragged the girl into Suchart’s tent, just pretending that he would rape her. They both came out about ten minutes later. Suchart, not believing that Wanchai hadn’t raped the victim, dragged her back inside the tent and raped her. According to the police, Wanchai said he could not stop the rapist, as Suchart had two friends standing guard at the entrance to the tent. It was at this point that Wanchai went to the police station to report the crime. Suchart is in jail, and the victim has returned to Ayuthaya.