Taxi driver charged with rape
A taxi driver has been charged with the rape of a 21-year-old Swedish tourist near Nong Harn lagoon at Karon beach early Sunday morning (April 10).
Tuesday 12 April 2011, 06:35AM
A taxi driver has been charged with the rape of a 21-year-old Swedish tourist near Nong Harn lagoon at Karon beach early Sunday morning (April 10).
After a medical examination of the tourist, Chalong police charged an illegal taxi driver, Piti Siriyotha, with the rape of the unnamed woman despite the driver claiming the intercourse was consensual.
Superintendent Colonel Kritong Jantongbai of Chalong Police Station said the rape took place in the taxi when it was parked by Nong Harn lagoon.
Driving a normal car with black number plates that was not licensed as a taxi, Piti offered a ride to the Swede after midnight while she was walking on the beach-front road near the Karon sport stadium.
Police said instead of taking her to her resort, the driver took her to a deserted area by the lagoon.
Police said the two sat together and talked on the beach before the woman was raped in the taxi at about 5 am.
The young woman was visiting Phuket with her parents and had planned to fly back to Sweden on April 12. She was scheduled to appear in court today (April 11).
