A devastating and heartbreaking tragedy for a Muslim mother in Bangkok who realised too late that her daughter was depressed and suffering after being captured and sexually abused by a gang of young men at a Bangkok canal house last week on Khlong Tan.
Thai police on Monday sought the arrest of two twenty-something hoodlums who incarcerated a 13-year old girl and sexually assaulted her last week at a shelter in the centre of Bangkok. Late on Friday night, the Muslim girl became distressed in front of her mother over the traumatic events and ran out of the family apartment in Suan Luang to the top of the building where she later committed suicide by throwing herself off a 12th-floor balcony.
Last Friday, a 13-year-old Muslim girl took her life in Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng area after a scene developed with her mother during which the girl sank into an emotional state. The young girl later jumped from the 12th floor of the apartment building where she lived.
Her street name was ‘Pinkie’ and sometime in the week prior, she had been illegally held captive in the centre of Bangkok at a riverside property Klong Than by between 5 and 6 men.
Sexually assaulted by a gang of young men
The young girl had been sexually assaulted by the gang of young men.
Press reports also suggest that she may have been raped on the night of Loi Krathong. There are also reports that she may have been pregnant.
This was based on confidential information given to Police Lieutenant Paiboon Kaewmane of Huan Mak police station by friends.
Police have stressed that this was not confirmed by medical tests.
Mother had tried to calm the girl down before she ran off to take her own life at the top of the building
The mother of the girl, a beautician, had been trying to comfort her daughter in the aftermath of her nightmarish experience.
Her mother said she was crying uncontrollably and hugging her body. She would not specify the reason for her distress.
Her mother coaxed her into taking medication prescribed by the medical facility she was taken to by police following her rescue 2 or 3 days earlier.
The girl was subjected to a physical examination following her ordeal so that the men involved could be prosecuted in court.
After the girl’s death, her grieving mother revealed her story to investigating police officers
Her mother, in the aftermath of the tragedy, which occurred sometime after midnight revealed the girl’s anguish to the police.
A local neighbour named as 48-year-old Benjanee Lertsangangarm said early on Saturday morning that the girl had suffered a mental breakdown in front of her mother which prompted her to run from her 6th floor home to the top of the building.
Heart piercing final message to a friend
There, the young girl took some time to say goodbye to her friend named as ‘Nat’ with a text message and a photo of her sitting on the edge of the balcony from where she would later jump.
The message was sent at 11.55 pm and said: ‘I have gone, I love you.’
Woman realised the danger later and ran after the girl, she was too late – her daughter jumped
The woman told police that she had belatedly realised how upset and depressed her daughter was and ran upstairs in pursuit of her.
She recalled that as he came onto to the top floor, she saw her daughter about to jump and tried to stop her but she was too late. This is believed to have occurred at 12.30 am.
Two suspects arrested the day the young girl was rescued from a canal house
Police of Klong Than station had come to the young girl’s rescue last week and in the process, arrested two suspects at the central Bangkok riverside location.
The girl was taken by the police and sent for forensic examination following her ordeal.
Cries of anguish last Saturday at the police hospital
On Saturday at the Police General Hospital, there were anguished scenes which touched both reporters and police when the distraught mother saw her daughter’s body being rolled out.
She grasped her daughter and hugged her while crying. The woman was in a disconsolate state.
Afterwards, she told reporters that she was taking the girl’s body to the Khlong Than Mosque to follow Islamic funeral rites.
Mother and daughter had lived alone in the Suan Luang area of Bangkok in the city centre
The Muslim woman and her 13-year-old had lived alone in the Suan Luang area in central Bangkok and the young girl had been involved in a number of incidents in the months before being held by a gang of young men.
Initially, police had received reports that the young 13-year-old herself was involved in drugs but set about over last weekend investigating the story told by the young girl’s mother using CCTV and intelligence at their disposal.
Arrest warrants for two men, one in custody
On Monday morning, the police had enough information to seek arrest warrants against two men thought to have been involved in the false imprisonment of young Pinkie at the canal house last week from where she was released by police in a raid.
A criminal court in Bangkok issued arrest warrants for 24-year-old Kittiyapong Boonthanad and 25-year-old Anont Doroseh.
Both men were sought on charges of illegally detaining another person and the sexual assault of a minor.
Police already had Mr Kittiyapong at Klong Than police station on a charge of legal possession of a firearm. A police alert is out for his partner in crime 25-year-old Anont Doroseh.
Scourge of criminality in central Bangkok driven by drugs, alcohol abuse and sex exploitation
The story highlights the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse in Bangkok and its links with criminality which knows no boundaries of decency.
Depraved child prostitution ring smashed in September
In September, armed police in the Hua Lamphong area smashed a gang of criminals running a child prostitution racket from a hotel in the area.
The gang were also prostituting their girlfriends and spending the proceeds if their sordid criminal activities feeding their drug habits.
It also throws light on traditional macho culture in Thai society which is very prevalent among younger Thai men but most especially when corrupted by drug-driven criminality.
Thai police force needs more female police officers
The story also highlights the need in Thailand for female police officers.
This year, the Thai police authorities suspended the recruitment of women as a police officer through its police academy after first enrolling women into force at the facility 2009 and recruiting over 700 officers some of whom have been promoted to responsible positions.
Overall, just over 8% of Thai police officers are women accounting for over 18,000 officers from a police force of over 210,000.
Academy suspended taking in female recruits in 2019
Under Thai law, a female police officer is required to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and assault.
Rights activists have argued that this year’s decision will limit the numbers of female officers entering the force.
Women in Thailand can still, however, enter the Royal Thai Police Force by first of all obtaining a bachelor’s degree and then, once accepted, entering a special 6-month training course.
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Further reading:
Child prostitution gang that ran a sex racket that terrorised children smashed by armed police
