Link to DailyMail Link New York Daily News
By Andrew Drummond
Last updated at 12:38 AM on 28th November 2009
A British couple have become victims of a horrendous Clockwork Orange-style sex attack ordeal while on holiday in Thailand.
The professional couple had chosen the Thai holiday island of Koh Chang to round off a memorable one-year sabbatical from their jobs touring the world.
But last night, the couple, one a government employee, the other a businessman, fled Thailand after they were subjected to a night of terror in which they say they were drugged and raped by gang they suspected preys on foreign tourists.
The couple did not wish to be fully identified. But the man, Richard,42, remembers being forced to watch as his wife Susan, 31, was sexually
assaulted by two men.
For the next two days, the couple lay almost motionless in their holiday bungalow as gradually their memories returned.Koh Chang
They called the police, but when nobody went to see them, they went to a local hospital to be examined by doctors.
Richard said: ‘The doctor there examined us and listened to our story and seemed to know what had happened straight away.’He told us we were showing all the symptoms of having been given the
drug Dormicum – a date rape drug. I do not know the drug, but it seemed of no surprise to the doctor.
‘When I asked the doctor if he could check for any traces, he said no, it would have been cleared out of our systems by now.’
They contacted the police, who they say showed scant interest and did little in the way of investigation.
They also contacted British authorities, but say the British representative on the island who came to see them was not interested either.
Last night, they were on their way back to Britain, with little prospect of anything being done. But they wanted to make others aware of the dangers of making contact with strangers in such places.
Richard said: ‘I know many people are not going to believe this and say that we must have been taking drink or drugs through choice. But nothing could be further from the truth.’
Susan said the night of their ordeal began with a pleasant drink at a beach bar, where they met an Englishwoman and some Frenchmen. They stayed in their company at the bar, although at one point she and her partner left for a short time, returning to join them. It was at that
point, she believes, the drinks were spiked.
‘
Things became a bit hazy. And then one of the Frenchmen lifted me up and carried me out of the bar. In a normal situation I would not let anybody do such a thing. It was bizarre.’
The group all went back to the couple’s bungalow.
‘Then things got hazier and hazier,’ she said.’Everything was a blur.’
Richard said he could vaguely remember being outside the bungalow and
watching through a window as Susan was assaulted by the men.
‘The next thing it was light and I was lying on the balcony in a foetal position and the Frenchman were standing above me looking down and laughing and saying what they had done to Susan.’
He realised that at some point he too had been sexually attacked. The couple said that when they were able to complain to police ‘they did not seem very interested’.
After contacting the British Embassy they were visited by a consular representative, a local Thai woman, who told them the police would not take the case seriously.
‘We have been contacted by the police who have asked us what we are going to do,’ said Richard.
‘We do not want to let the matter drop. But we must get home to our families.’
A Thai Police spokesman strenuously denied they were not taking the couple’s complaint seriously and said an investigation was under way.
A British Embassy spokesman said: ‘The consular team in Bangkok have been in touch throughout to give help and advice to the British nationals involved and are urgently following up with the Thai police.
‘A member of staff from our consulate in Pattaya visited the British nationals within the first day of the embassy being contacted to provide face-to-face assistance. Our consular staff in London have also
been in touch with the family members in the UK.’
