PHUKET: An Australian tourist has told how she was attacked by a would-be rapist as she enjoyed a poolside resort party after a family wedding on Phuket last week.
News of the alleged rape bid has been slow to emerge because attempts have been made to suppress the story ''in the best interests of Thailand.''
But the Melbourne woman, who says she was almost a rape victim at an isolated, rocky beach near the Phuket resort, wanted to tell her story to Phuketwan to prevent the same thing happening to other women.
Phuket Police Commander Major General Pachara Boonyasit said today that a security guard from the resort had been arrested and charged.
The man, Somporn Chaipan, is now in Phuket Prison, said Captain Nuchalee Longkeaw of Phuket City police, adding that he denies attempting to rape the woman.
Commander Pachara said he would have revealed the details of what happened at the resort earlier, but he was told by one of his senior officers that the Australian Embassy did not want the media to learn about the case.
Phuketwan has been unable to contact the embassy today for comment.*
The young woman's husband, who had also been at the wedding last Tuesday when a cousin married, said today: ''We have stayed on Phuket to have this story told.''
Blood and urine tests should eventually reveal whether her drink was spiked, as she suspects.
The woman spoke to Phuketwan in a confident way, but was still recovering from scratches and grazes and bruises she says were inflicted in the struggle with the security guard, a contract worker at the resort.
She said there were about 80 people at the family wedding at the east coast resort. ''We were in a big family group. The ceremony was normal then it turned into an after-party . . . dinner, drinks.''
Many people enjoyed a plunge in the pool, fully clothed.
''It wasn't until very late that the problem started. There were probably 25 people left. The young people continued to party.''
She said the official staff finished their shift at 12.30am, when it became a private party. Two men in resort t-shirts remained at the bar.
''I was pretty drunk,'' she said. ''I went up them and said 'Hi, can I have a drink.''
The person bobbed down behind the boat bar to prepare the vodka mix.
She said she noticed another man in a faded cap and a faded resort shirt, with a walkie talkie, who had little grasp of English but kept saying: ''I'm security, I'm security, you're safe with me.''
She discovered later that the first two men she noticed were connected to the fire show, and not supposed to be up front at the party.
The third man, she said, was supposed to be mounting a security patrol at the beach.
Soon after, one man told her husband, ''You look a bit tired, maybe you need some sleep.''
About 10 minutes later, her husband headed off to their room, but she opted to stay on with her young family friends.
She noticed after another swim about 3am that the security guard was still there, while the other two men had left.
The security guard insisted he could take her ''home.''
''I was quite disoriented but I was very lethargic and it felt as though my body was going limp,'' she said.
''He sort of stopped me and kept insisting 'your home is this way,' pointing to the dark beach area.
''I was still insisting I want to go this way and before I knew what was happening he put his arm around me and directed me towards the beach, so quickly I didn't have a chance to react.
''I was stumbling. All of a sudden I was on the beach and he kept pulling me towards the dark coconut palms. Before I knew it, he was on me, he was holding me, pushing and pushing.
''His face was on me, he was kissing me and touching me.
''I was feeling I'd drunk too much, but it was a different feeling, a really heavy feeling that I've never felt before. He took me a little further.
''I remember being near a coconut palm and he started pushing me down. He took my underwear off. He took his pants off and I knew what was coming.
''I tried to push him away and thought I was turning back to the party but I was running towards the ocean, except the tide had gone out.
''I fell and scratched all one side of my body. I had no strength. I just fell in the mud.
''He dragged me out of the mud area back to the dry sand in the out-of-sight area. He may have thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't move. I felt out of my mind.
''I was in shock, like nothing I've ever felt in my life. He came and picked me up, then brought me back to the coconut tree and again tried to have sex with me.
''I was trying to kick him. I knew that I had to get out of there or I was going to get seriously raped. I screamed 'No! Get away from me! I go home now!' I pushed him out of the way and ran back towards the party.
''I kept running, couldn't find my room. I finally found it and my husband had left the card outside. He asked me what had happened.''
Her husband called reception but they did not understand what had occurred.
''We couldn't really tell anyone at the hotel staff because nobody spoke English. We had to wait for the morning.''
Later, her injuries were treated.
''I was traumatised. I didn't fully comprehend what had happened. It wasn't until later on Wednesday night that things started to come back to me.''
She said she gave blood and urine samples at a leading Phuket hospital and the samples had been sent to Bangkok for testing.
As soon as police were contacted, officers descended on the resort in numbers and tried to find the alleged attacker. The man was arrested on Friday.
''They told us he was found, hiding in the mountains,'' she said.
''We were so confused. We didn't know the law, the way things work here.''
There was a lineup later on the Friday and she identified the man. The woman then appeared at the court on Phuket to give evidence.
The couple were due to leave on the Saturday but opted to stay on to help with the case.
''They [the resort] hired that man, as a contractor, there should have been some sort of background checks or even police checks,'' she said.
''I want other people to be aware of these situations. As a tourist, I think I'm safe in a group of friends.
''It never crossed my mind that someone, a security guard, could pull you away from a party so easily. Not even one person was aware of it.
''We need to be careful. I believe he was watching and waiting to make his move.''
*Shorlty after the article was published the Australian embassy responded: ''In the case you have mentioned we asked the police to respect the privacy of the victim as we usually would in a case of this nature.''
News of the alleged rape bid has been slow to emerge because attempts have been made to suppress the story ''in the best interests of Thailand.''
But the Melbourne woman, who says she was almost a rape victim at an isolated, rocky beach near the Phuket resort, wanted to tell her story to Phuketwan to prevent the same thing happening to other women.
Phuket Police Commander Major General Pachara Boonyasit said today that a security guard from the resort had been arrested and charged.
The man, Somporn Chaipan, is now in Phuket Prison, said Captain Nuchalee Longkeaw of Phuket City police, adding that he denies attempting to rape the woman.
Commander Pachara said he would have revealed the details of what happened at the resort earlier, but he was told by one of his senior officers that the Australian Embassy did not want the media to learn about the case.
Phuketwan has been unable to contact the embassy today for comment.*
The young woman's husband, who had also been at the wedding last Tuesday when a cousin married, said today: ''We have stayed on Phuket to have this story told.''
Blood and urine tests should eventually reveal whether her drink was spiked, as she suspects.
The woman spoke to Phuketwan in a confident way, but was still recovering from scratches and grazes and bruises she says were inflicted in the struggle with the security guard, a contract worker at the resort.
She said there were about 80 people at the family wedding at the east coast resort. ''We were in a big family group. The ceremony was normal then it turned into an after-party . . . dinner, drinks.''
Many people enjoyed a plunge in the pool, fully clothed.
''It wasn't until very late that the problem started. There were probably 25 people left. The young people continued to party.''
She said the official staff finished their shift at 12.30am, when it became a private party. Two men in resort t-shirts remained at the bar.
''I was pretty drunk,'' she said. ''I went up them and said 'Hi, can I have a drink.''
The person bobbed down behind the boat bar to prepare the vodka mix.
She said she noticed another man in a faded cap and a faded resort shirt, with a walkie talkie, who had little grasp of English but kept saying: ''I'm security, I'm security, you're safe with me.''
She discovered later that the first two men she noticed were connected to the fire show, and not supposed to be up front at the party.
The third man, she said, was supposed to be mounting a security patrol at the beach.
Soon after, one man told her husband, ''You look a bit tired, maybe you need some sleep.''
About 10 minutes later, her husband headed off to their room, but she opted to stay on with her young family friends.
She noticed after another swim about 3am that the security guard was still there, while the other two men had left.
The security guard insisted he could take her ''home.''
''I was quite disoriented but I was very lethargic and it felt as though my body was going limp,'' she said.
''He sort of stopped me and kept insisting 'your home is this way,' pointing to the dark beach area.
''I was still insisting I want to go this way and before I knew what was happening he put his arm around me and directed me towards the beach, so quickly I didn't have a chance to react.
''I was stumbling. All of a sudden I was on the beach and he kept pulling me towards the dark coconut palms. Before I knew it, he was on me, he was holding me, pushing and pushing.
''His face was on me, he was kissing me and touching me.
''I was feeling I'd drunk too much, but it was a different feeling, a really heavy feeling that I've never felt before. He took me a little further.
''I remember being near a coconut palm and he started pushing me down. He took my underwear off. He took his pants off and I knew what was coming.
''I tried to push him away and thought I was turning back to the party but I was running towards the ocean, except the tide had gone out.
''I fell and scratched all one side of my body. I had no strength. I just fell in the mud.
''He dragged me out of the mud area back to the dry sand in the out-of-sight area. He may have thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't move. I felt out of my mind.
''I was in shock, like nothing I've ever felt in my life. He came and picked me up, then brought me back to the coconut tree and again tried to have sex with me.
''I was trying to kick him. I knew that I had to get out of there or I was going to get seriously raped. I screamed 'No! Get away from me! I go home now!' I pushed him out of the way and ran back towards the party.
''I kept running, couldn't find my room. I finally found it and my husband had left the card outside. He asked me what had happened.''
Her husband called reception but they did not understand what had occurred.
''We couldn't really tell anyone at the hotel staff because nobody spoke English. We had to wait for the morning.''
Later, her injuries were treated.
''I was traumatised. I didn't fully comprehend what had happened. It wasn't until later on Wednesday night that things started to come back to me.''
She said she gave blood and urine samples at a leading Phuket hospital and the samples had been sent to Bangkok for testing.
As soon as police were contacted, officers descended on the resort in numbers and tried to find the alleged attacker. The man was arrested on Friday.
''They told us he was found, hiding in the mountains,'' she said.
''We were so confused. We didn't know the law, the way things work here.''
There was a lineup later on the Friday and she identified the man. The woman then appeared at the court on Phuket to give evidence.
The couple were due to leave on the Saturday but opted to stay on to help with the case.
''They [the resort] hired that man, as a contractor, there should have been some sort of background checks or even police checks,'' she said.
''I want other people to be aware of these situations. As a tourist, I think I'm safe in a group of friends.
''It never crossed my mind that someone, a security guard, could pull you away from a party so easily. Not even one person was aware of it.
''We need to be careful. I believe he was watching and waiting to make his move.''
*Shorlty after the article was published the Australian embassy responded: ''In the case you have mentioned we asked the police to respect the privacy of the victim as we usually would in a case of this nature.''
Why are you not naming and shaming the hotel who didn't have a clue what the guests were complaining about.
This is an utmost urgent case and the staff of this hotel were next to useless. They should be named and shamed.
As for the guard, I hope he goes away for a long time.
Posted by Tbs on November 12, 2014 18:03
Editor Comment:
The couple decided they preferred to not have the resort named. We have to respect their decision. Clearly, every resort that uses contract security guards has an obligation to make 100 percent certain that they apply serious character standards. This is not the first problem.