A 19-year-old British teenager has stood by her claim that she was drugged, robbed and raped during her vacation on Koh Tao in June and warned people to stay from the tourist island in the southern province of Surat Thani.
In an interview with The Times, the unidentified teenager accused Thai authorities of trying to suppress the truth.
In the story published on September 8, she also said that Thai authorities tried to publicly discredit her rather than investigate her claim 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.”
She told The Times that she was attacked in the early hours of June 26 on Sairee beach, the same place where British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and her friend David Miller, 24, were bludgeoned to death in 2014.
However, Thai police who investigated the claim concluded that no rape took place and have filed charges against administrators of news websites that reported the alleged rape.
