Police must stop negotiating freedom for rapists
Re: “Many rape cases stalled or ‘settled’ by police, says foundation”, National News, September 21.
Research reveals that in 2015 alone there were 306 cases of sexual violence reported in the media.
Angkana Intasa of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation notes that very few of these cases reached court. Meanwhile out of 30 rape reports her foundation received directly from victims, only one made it to court.
Now, the situation has become so bad that a child of four was reportedly raped by three teenagers last week.
Instead of pursuing rape cases through the courts in a straightforward manner and per the law, Thai police seem to find it more convenient to pose as “middlemen” between the alleged rapists and their abject victims.
As a result, the rapists are emboldened by the police “help” since they are let free as soon as they have committed the crime.
The Prayut government should act to ensure that all cases of rape and serious sex assault are dealt with properly according to the judicial process. Otherwise our society will continue to suffer from a growing number of rapists and paedophiles.
Chavalit Wannawijitr
Chiang Mai
