A senior police officer has been ordered to Koh Tao island in the southern province of Surat Thani to investigate charges by a British backpacker that local police refused to accept her complaint that she had been raped and robbed of her cellphone and 3,000 baht in cash.
Pol Maj-Gen Surachet Hakparn, deputy commissioner of Tourist Police Bureau, will visit Koh Tao tomorrow to investigate the case which was widely reported in British and Australian media. police.
The national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said he wanted the investigation into the case to be wrapped up in seven days. He threatened severe action against the local police officers if it could be proven that the British backpacker’s complaint was true.
However, the police chief said that the probe team would also look into the possibility that the tourist’s complaint was made up so that she could claim compensation from her insurance company for her loss of cellphone and cash.
Koh Pha-ngan police superintendent claimed that her complaint didn’t mention about rape or robbery. She filed a police report with a duty police officer on June 27 when she merely said that he cellphone and cash went missing. But when the duty officer suggested her to lodge the complaint with Koh Tao police, she declined, claiming it was inconvenient for her to travel there. She left Thailand on July 2.
Later on however, the rape and robbery charges appeared on a website with an allegation that the local police refused to accept her complaint of rape and robbery.
