Rape 'victim' sentenced to 15 days in jail
PHUKET: An Australian tourist who admitted lying to authorities about being raped in Phuket has been sentenced to 15 days in prison, starting today.
Paritta Wangkiat
Friday 15 June 2012, 03:31PM
The 21-year-old woman who reported to Kathu police that she had been raped on Sunday by three men in a tuk-tuk, confessed last night (June 14) that she had lied about the incident, police say.
She appeared in Phuket Provincial Court this morning on a charge of making a false statement. Once she is released from jail she will be deported.
Police were convinced that the reported rape (see earlier story here) had not taken place, because CCTV camera footage showed no evidence of her being taken in a tuk-tuk. A medical examination of the woman found no bruises or other signs of violence.
Following questioning, CCTV camera footage was shown to the woman and officials from the Australia Embassy, which prompted the woman to confess.
According to Phuket Police Commander Maj Gen Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, the woman said she lied about the rape because she was afraid her boyfriend would be angry when she arrived back at their hotel room later than him.
The couple had spent a night out in Patong where they had argued and then split up.
Maj Gen Chonasit said the woman had told police that her boyfriend was hot-tempered, so she lied about the situation to stop her boyfriend getting angry.
