Tourist's rape claim disputed
Several witnesses have told police they spotted a Scottish woman on the night she claimed she was raped - but they did not see any man approach her or use violence against her.
Nakhon Si Thammarat police interrogated several witnesses who said they saw the tourist at three restaurants where she drank and at the apartment building in which she stayed. All said they had not anybody threatening or attacking her.
The 20-year-old filed a police complaint saying four men had raped her on Friday night – a story that has been widely reported by foreign media.
Nakhon Si Thammarat police chief Pol Maj-General Ronnapong Saikaew yesterday convened a meeting of senior officers to discuss the progress of the investigation. The meeting was told several witnesses provided the same testimony – that they did not see any man approaching the woman.
Another two witnesses were invited to testify – an engineer of a petroleum firm in Malaysia and an executive of the Jamaica Restaurant where the woman drank. They said they remembered the woman well because she was drunk while with her friends, who were also tourists.
Pol Lt-Colonel Niti Boonchan, deputy commander of Muang district police station who is heading the investigation, told the meeting that he also interviewed witnesses from the Jamaica Shop and the Nakhon Viengchan Shop – the third place the woman drank. All testified she was drunk and quarrelled with patrons.
After this meeting, the Nakhon Si Thammrat police chief visited the apartment building where the woman was staying and spoke to Noi Raksachon, 33, whose room was next to that of the Scottish woman.
Noi said her neighbour’s swearing woke her up at 3.45am, and then she heard a man come to the woman’s room at 5am and asked her to go downstairs for fear she might fall from the room’s balcony. But the woman yelled at him, prompting him to leave.
Noi said if the woman was being raped inside her room, she would have heard calls for help.
The building is connected to the Nakhon Viengchan Shop with a second floor walkway. Jatuporn Mongkolkarun, the shop owner, said she had a security officer walk the woman to her room.
Pol Colonel Sompong Tiparpakul, commander of Muang police station, said police are still waiting for the results of physical checks on the woman to confirm if she had been raped.
