FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Plantation owner accused of alleged sex abuse of four children

Plantation owner accused of alleged sex abuse of four children

Relatives of the alleged victims - three girls aged 6, 10 and 14 and a nine-year-old boy from the same family - feared they wouldn't get justice as the suspect - who was the head of a rubber plantation in Chumphon's Lang Suan district - was now on bail and allegedly threatened them.

The 14-year-old victim's 52-year-old mother Jan (not her real name) also claimed that the 50-year-old suspect – identified only as Surin (last name withheld) – threatened her family after he was was earlier arrested for allegedly raping and sexually molesting the children over a number of years but later was released on bail. 

Chumphon police chief Pol Maj General Sajarat Saksilpchai, said he had instructed the case investigator to proceed with legal action against the suspect for the alleged victim intimidation and to gather tighter evidence to prosecute him for the alleged sex crimes.

Jan said that she, her husband and their teenage son and two-year-old daughter, moved from Sakhon Nakhon in 2007 to find rubber tapping jobs in Sawi district. They got to know plantation owner Surin who was kind to the family and invited them to build a shack on his land in tambon Bang Maphrao of Lang Suan district, she said. 

Jan said Surin often took her daughter to his home. When the girl was seven years old, however, it was revealed that Surin had allegedly molested or raped her over the previous five years.

Jan said that Surin then offered Bt20,000 to hide the scandal and she accepted as her family lived on Surin's land and she tried to block Surin from taking advantage of the girl again. 

The girl claimed, however, that she continued to be a target of Surin's alleged sexual advances.

In February this year, Jan said she found out that her nephew, nine, had allegedly been raped and her two grand-daughters had allegedly avoided Surin's sexual advances on multiple occasions.

Because of the latest incidents, Jan said she filed a police complaint. She said a medical examination of all four children backed her allegations.

She said her family has now moved out of the area to stay on another community leader's land.

Jan claimed that she decided to come forwards to tell the story to Thai journalists this week because Surin allegedly had some men, driving in a van, shown the four children's photos to the villagers in her new neighborhood earlier this week, as to ask for a direction to the family's new home - which was a threatening gesture that made the family worried they might not get justice.

RELATED
nationthailand