Thread: Thailand charges 12 for Facebook post on British tourist’s alleged rape

The 12 individuals have since Tuesday been hauled down to the tourist island of Koh Tao after allegedly sharing a post detailing the woman’s allegations and criticising local police.


The 19-year-old, who has since returned home, told British media that she was drugged and raped while holidaying on the island.


Her account has been disputed by Koh Tao police, who said a rape complaint was not formally filed.
Winyat Chatmontree of United Lawyers for Rights and Liberty said the 12 hailed from all over the country, including the capital Bangkok.


“They were accused of sharing false information,” Chatmontree said.
Charged under Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act, the group were accused of “committing together the crime of disseminating, broadcasting, and sharing false information”, he said.

They were all released on Thursday night on a bond of 60,000 baht (US$1,830) each.
They face up to five years in prison if found guilty, Chatmontree said.

Arrest warrants have also been issued against the administrators of two public Facebook pages which shared posts about the alleged rape, deputy tourist police chief Surachet Hakpan said.
Neither of the people sought were in Thailand, he added.


Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act is a broadly worded law which forbids uploading “false data” online.
Critics say the law has been used to stamp out dissent and curb free speech.


The case against the 12 had the potential to justify further prosecutions against social media users in Thailand, said Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the advocacy group Cross Cultural Foundation.


“It is a serious precedent that is getting worse and worse in affecting our freedom of expression,” she said.
While Thailand’s southern islands are considered safe and popular tourist destinations, several high-profile incidents have tarnished their reputation in recent years.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2163317/thailand-charges-12-facebook-post-tourists-alleged-rape

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

Her account has been disputed by Koh Tao police, who said a rape complaint was not formally filed.

Not formally filed does not equate to "did not happen". Whatsmore, if no formal complaint was made then no police investigation was launched and thus the police can not know if it was a false claim or not.

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act is a broadly worded law which forbids uploading “false data” online.
Critics say the law has been used to stamp out dissent and curb free speech.

I'd better not "like" that patently true statement.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Not formally filed does not equate to "did not happen". Whatsmore, if no formal complaint was made then no police investigation was launched and thus the police can not know if it was a false claim or not.

Correct ...but, even the best police force in the world cant investigate a potential crime unless its been reported & I dont mean reporting to The Sun weeks after the event.

The alledged victim's story doesn't add up so Im calling a regretful attention seeker at this stage.

If this is true, then her story probably is also. The whole thing does reek of a typical Thai cover up, including the use of draconian laws to silence reporting.

She fled to a neighbouring island before returning to Koh Tao to file a complaint with police, who she accused of refusing to investigate her rape allegation while noting only details of the robbery

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/1529446/cops-probe-koh-tao-rape-claim

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

If this is true, then her story probably is also. The whole thing does reek of a typical Thai cover up, including the use of draconian laws to silence reporting.

The internet is awash with unsubstantiated KT conspiracy theories which include mafia involvement, powerful hiso families and police cover ups, throw in the rape and murder which actually happened and it could just as easily be a copy and paste job from a regretful teenager who by her own admission was on a bender.

Originally Posted by taxexile

one can picture the sneering reaction of the thai police when a blond foreign girl, scantily clad in backpacker chic , dishevelled and disorientated after her ordeal walked in and attempted to report the incident on phangan. they probably had a good laugh over their early morning lao khao and then spent that night fantasising about it with the mental images seared into their parochial micro brains.

animals.

That's quite the imgination you have there....when does the movie come out? I imagine it will be quite the hit with the Thai bashing fraternity.
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Bit odd she did'nt raise this with the British Embassy in Bangkok before leaving Thailand, but is now happily doing the rounds with UK newspapers who are like flies around dogshit on anything KT related. I wonder how big her overdraft was on returning to the UK.

Originally Posted by foobar

The internet is awash with unsubstantiated KT conspiracy theories

Which are always going to be that if the BiB consistently fudge investigations.

Bit odd she did'nt raise this with the British Embassy in Bangkok before leaving Thailand,

you have obviously never tried to make contact with the british embassy.

The Streisand Effect..... Story now in the Times, UK


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cb0c2b98-b2e5-11e8-8fb1-ac438dd6af00




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A teenager who was allegedly drugged, raped and robbed on Koh Tao has warned fellow backpackers not to visit the notorious Thai island.


The 19-year-old Briton, speaking for the first time about her ordeal, told The Times that the Thai authorities had tried to publicly discredit her rather than investigate her claims and did not offer basic support or forensic checks.


She accused them of suppressing the truth about the brutal attack, during a gap-year holiday over the summer, because it would have a negative impact on tourism. The alleged victim, from London, said: “I would urge other young people to stay away. I would never feel safe going back to Koh Tao.


“I wouldn’t tell people not to go to Thailand in general, it is one of my favourite countries. But it is a beautiful place with a dark side that blinds you.” Koh Tao is popular among British backpackers but became notorious in 2014 when Hannah Witheridge, 23, and her friend David Miller, 24, were bludgeoned to death on the beach. It has since become known as “death island” after several unexplained backpacker deaths.


Police have been accused of covering up crime to protect the island’s tourism industry, with more than 100,000 people visiting a year. Twelve people were threatened with arrest this week for sharing details of the latest alleged attack on Facebook.


The London woman said that she was attacked in the early hours of June 26 on Sairee beach, where Ms Witheridge was raped before her murder. She believes that her rum and coke was spiked with drugs in one of the bars along the beach. A male friend who ordered a drink at the same time suffered the same symptoms of drowsiness and then blackout. She felt tired and left the bar and cannot remember anything since.


Speaking from her home she said: “The next thing I remember is waking up. My shorts and underwear were off me. A Thai guy was standing over me. As I woke up he just smiled at me and then he took off. He’d taken my phone, my money, my cards. I had scratches down my leg. I had really bad burn grazes on my knee which I’ve got scars from. I was in a lot of pain and I was covered in sand.”


The woman suspects that she was targeted because she and her friends had been out drinking every night while they were there. However, she had drunk less than normal on the night in question because it was her last on Koh Tao, which means Turtle Island, and she had an early boat booked to the island of Koh Phangan, about 90 minutes away. “I was just in a state, I couldn’t talk to anyone, I was terrified,” she said. “I just wanted to get off the island.”


She took the boat to Koh Phangan where she reported the rape but she said that the police refused to take action because it was on another island.


They did not offer any support, carry out forensics or have a rape kit. They would only offer to give her a police report so that she could claim her stolen belongings on insurance, which she said was the last thing on her mind.


She flew home to England after a few days and a friend took the semen- covered T-shirt that she was wearing during the alleged attack back to police on Koh Tao. They refused three times to accept it.


It was only after the alleged victim’s mother spoke out because she was so horrified by the lack of action that a police inquiry was opened last week.


Police have threatened to ban the woman from Thailand and claim that she made up the rape to cover up having sex with a British friend who was not her boyfriend, which she denies.


“I’m speaking out because I hope that they see I’m not out to get Thailand, I’m just asking for some respect and some help. Other people will not go to Koh Tao eventually if this keeps going on. Eventually there’s going to be too many cases like me because they’re not catching the right person. I feel like they’re misinterpreting my motives, that they think I hate Thailand and I want it to suffer. That’s the last thing I want as it’s one of my favourite places. I wouldn’t tell other people not to go elsewhere in Thailand, but they should be careful.”

Originally Posted by taxexile

you have obviously never tried to make contact with the british embassy.

Took me all of 8 secs after reading your nonsense reply...

Urgent assistance

If you’re in Thailand and you need urgent help (for example, you’ve been attacked, arrested or someone has died), call +66(0)2 305 8333. If you’re in the UK and worried about a British national in Thailand, call 020 7008 1500.

https://www.gov.uk/world/organisatio...mbassy-bangkok

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Which are always going to be that if the BiB consistently fudge investigations.

I dont think the BIB can be held responsable for weirdos in tinfoil lined basements making up stuff and presenting it as fact.

Originally Posted by foobar

I dont think the BIB can be held responsable for weirdos in tinfoil lined basements making up stuff and presenting it as fact.

No, but they can be held "responsable" for abject indifference or outright corruption.