According to a police report made available by today (Oct 1), officers arrested the man, named only as “Mr Sombat”, at a house in Moo 5, Kathu, on Tuesday (Sept 29).
Leading the arrest was Lt Col Sinchai Thawanpinyo of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) Region 5 Police.
The report explained that Mr Sombat was wanted on arrest warrant no. 258/2017 issued by Phuket Provincial Court on May 15, 2017 for the charge of rape of a girl under 15 years old.
The report noted that the girl’s ordeal began in November 2010. Ae was living at a workers’ camp in Phuket together with her grandmother and her grandmother’s new husband, Mr Sombat.
When Ae’s grandmother became sick, she needed to stay in another room while Ae slept in the same room as Mr Sombat.
That was when Mr Sombat used the separation as an opportunity to repeatedly rape Ae, said the report.
After some period of time a neighbor noticed that Ae looked like she was pregnant. The neighbor took Ae to a hospital, where she was confirmed to be pregnant, the report continued.
The neighbor informed the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women and officers from the Phuket Social Development and Human Security Office took Ae into protective custody.
A complaint was then filed with Phuket City Police, the report noted.
After conducting a preliminary investigation, officers from the Phuket City Police were granted an arrest warrant to apprehend Mr Sombat.
However, it was not until Tuesday this week (Sept 29) that CSD police received a tip-off that Mr Sombat was living and working as a gardener in Kathu, leading officers to arrive at the house together with officers from the Kathu Police and place him under arrest.
Other than the initial rape occurring in November 2020 and Mr Sombat’s arrest on Tuesday, the report did not give any dates for the unfolding of events that led to Mr Sombat’s arrest.
Kathu Police told The Phuket News this afternoon that they were not involved in the investigation, and Phuket City Chief Col Theerawat Liamsuwan declined to give any details over the phone.