IS THIS HER WALKING HAND IN HAND WITH HER RAPIST?
Police in Krabi today issued a picture of the Dutch girl who reported that she was raped in Krabi last July which appears to show her walking hand in hand with her attacker.
And they showed a further picture of the 19-year-old birthday girl, her eyes apparently blackened, accepting a gift of flowers from police together with her Dutch boyfriend.
The video was put on you tube earlier today to counter a music video put on the internet by the girl’s father entitled ‘Evil Man in Krabi’
The Thai video called ‘The Truth From Krabi’ is unlikely to do the Royal Thai Police any favours abroad. But it is in Thai and was clearly not made for a foreign audience.
In most countries, including Thailand, it it illegal to identify victims of rape. Further the still from a CCTV camera will of course sow doubt in peoples minds about the relationship.
The picture of the tour guide Chumpol Khaonung, 26, is also shown. But it was a picture issued while he was ‘on the run’.
Most rapes in Thailand are of woman who have known their attackers… and that includes tourists.
Before the latest row there had been no suggestion from the Thai Police that the young Dutch woman had made a malicious report.
But the video showing her walking hand in hand with her attacker, which she was aware of, appears to foreigners to be used in a way to show that she was a willing participant to sex, and will certainly be used in evidence against her in court by the defence.
But that’s just the appearance. The commentary however is factual. It describes what processes the police went through and the procedures for trial.
The CCTV clip is actually evidence for the prosecution and police have also hospital medical reports and pictures of the woman’s injuries.
Contrary to reports in the Thai media the father had not complained about police. His song was about the alleged rapist getting bail.
The commentary on today’s video says the father probably does not understand Thai law which is not the same as Dutch law.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3p9PN8DLtI
I cannot embed the video here because of the identification problems. The picture used above does not identify the victim.
Where is this video – The Truth From Krabi?
Your video link goes to Krabi Police Comments
Same?
Press the play arrow Iar 🙂
Don't see any play arrow. If you are referring the the graphic that says Truth From Krabi, it doesn't show a video using Firefox
Here is a direct link the Truth from Krabi video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXjgz4d7l4
I'm afraid I don't understand the father's response, nor do I his provocative You tube statement.
In every developed country the accused is entitled to a fair trial.Period.
In the UK, for example, everyone charged with an offence has a right to bail. Bail is only ever refused as a matter of course where the charge is of murder. In other serious cases, including rape, bail can be refused if there is the likelihood the accused will abscond, there is a fear of a repeat offence or if witnesses will be intimidated. In such instances it is for the police to adduce evidence that the fear of such breaches is reasonable and likely. In most instances in the UK bail is invariably granted pending trial.
The father in this case is understandably driven to extremes and is riven with anger. But, if he had mounted such an attack on the defendant in a British case he would have been arrested on a charge of contempt of court and more than likely compromised the chances of a fair trial for the defendant with all that that would entail.
That the Thai have reciprocated in this manner is regrettable. The mere fact that a victim held the hand of her subsequent attacker is no justification for the attack but may go some way to mitigation. We understand that in the context of our western penal code but folk seem to be overlooking the fact that this is not the West. Thailand has its own ways. There are some here who have extolled the virtues of the Thai and their society as if it held some mysterious superiority over the western ethos. I never bought into that nonsense. I find the Thai, like many Asian societies, to be somewhat crude and simplistic in their approach and this is very much reflected in their day to day culture and, indeed, is exemplified by their response posted on Youtube. Nevertheless, they have a system which is not unlike our own in structure and, certainly, the grant of bail pending trial is not unique.
Bail conditions are not the same as in the Uk and the father committed no contempt of court othr than commenting on the release without bail, but that is not contempt.In the Uk
Maybe she was scared as a foreigner and tested the person hence she did hold his hand? – Maybe he offered his hand in the dark areas? – Whatever….
If the authorities in Thailand want to say that any man, after just holding a woman’s hand, is entitled to beat and rape her, they should please say so very clearly and straight forward to ensure everyone knows and understand a possible local tradition I was not aware off.
This Krabi Police comment was posted on YouTube on 9 November which is different to the one you have linked to. (4,355 views and 81 comments to date.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTSuUJPfS6c&feature=youtu.be
He is basically saying that the police had arrested the suspect and the court took the decision to release him on bail even though the police advised against it. He also says that in many of these foreign/Thai rape cases the victim usually knows the rapist and it happens late at night when both parties are drunk. See my comments underneath. He also mentions that crime in Krabi is not that high compared to other tourist areas in Thailand and that it is quite safe here and that the locals are nice. (johninthai in reply to Peter Marshall – 23 hours ago)
The original " Truth from Krabi" police statement was removed along with a lot of comments they should take note of, including my ridicule of that green undulating title and intro music. It was then reposted as Krabi police comments. And then also Krabi Police Comment [singular] with the one officer offering his opinions on rape.
In the video still I don't think it's clear they are holding hands, or perhaps he had a hold of her hand. Even if they are, or he was, the police seem to think it was a rape and arrested him. She was beaten, is that an established fact?
BTW Since it is against the law to critisize a court decision. Cees Koldijk may well face arrest over the video if he ever wanted to visit.
The police's Truth From Krabi is still up there but not linked to Cees' page. Just search for Truth From Krabi within YouTube and you will find it. The stills included in it are thoroughly reprehensible as they are clearly designed to convince the public that 1) victim encouraged the rapist; 2) that she was well treated by police and didn't look too badly beaten a couple of days after being raped and beaten. Further the clip is designed so that the senior police commentator didn't have to take the risk of making these suggestions explicitly. If the stills were to receive a negative reaction in Thailand, he could easily deny any knowledge of their inclusion and blame some unnamed junior technician. Personally I also doubt that the victim was actually holding hands with the rapist in the CCTV clip. It is intended by the police to look that way at a glance but, if you look closely, what looks initially like her right hand could easily be part of the paving pattern. There is a similar blurred shape below the man's right hand. Also the CCTV grab could easily have been doctored. Obviously the comments about drunken rapes of drunk women in tourist resorts late at night are intended to make the Thai public feel that this was a wanton farang woman who disrespected the modesty Thais like to believe is inherent in their culture and brought trouble on herself. This is standard police operating procedure in such cases and was very well illustrated in the Leo del Pinto murder case where Carly Reisig was portrayed to Thai media as a promiscuous young hussy with a serious drink problem who liked to make Thai men drool over her, leading to the brutal murder of her friend Leo and the serious wounding of herself by a drunken policeman (who subsequently beat his pregnant 18 year old wife to death while on bail awaiting trial for Leo's murder).
Yes, technically criticism of a court judgment is contempt of court but criticism of bail decisions are extremely common in Thailand and I have never heard of any contempt of court cases resulting. Recently relatives of a youth who was tortured and murdered by police colonels in Kalasin criticised a court decision to free on bail the murderers, even though they have been convicted and sentenced to death by the lower court and the appeal court and are awaiting their final case in the supreme court. You can imagine that their incentive to intimidate or neutralise the witnesses is fairly acute. In addition lese majeste victims and their families regularly speak out against the routine denial of bail in such cases and red shirts are not timid about criticising unfavourable bail decisions for red shirts charged with treason and arson relating to the disturbances in 2010. Anyway Cees' clip doesn't specifically criticise the court (or the police). He just laments the fact that man who is accused with apparently a great deal of evidence of brutally raping his beloved daughter is out on bail and is free to commit the same crime again.
Even though the police weren't criticised or even mentioned in Cees' video it is interesting that they have come out to defend themselves. I think it is a case of "If the cap fits, wear it." No doubt there was some pressure from government too and the Tourism minister has weighed in with his enlightened opinion that this was something other than rape. However, he would probably have preferred it if the police had organised a more professional looking video in English. Perhaps the Tourist Authority of Thailand will step up to the plate with an Amazing to be Raped in Thailand video featuring handsome young male tour guides and jet ski operators sweeping scantily clad young farang girls off their feet and into the bushes.
New Zealand is supposedly a 1st world country with laws to protect the innocent. Here is the result of quick look on Google of our record for protecting citizens from people who have been arrested for crimes of violence. http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/08/killing_on_bail.html
There is a dispute about whether this girl was holding hands. Police have said they may show the whole video to prove it. Father says 'go ahead'.
Rape can be hard to prosecute because women often agree to sex – but rarely do women agree to be beaten up. How will they tackle that awkward detail? Perhaps fisticuffs is an appropriate form of foreplay in Thailand, after agreeing to sex by having dinner with the attacker/date. Or she might have just fell down some stairs.
Another poster was right about the need to update travel guides: don't touch the head; don't point feet; don't dine with Thai males unless you're up for it.
As Thaksin used to say, quoting one of Thailand's most corrupt and brutal police commissioners, "There is nothing under the sun that Thai police cannot do". I don't think the victim's injuries would be a big problem for the police or prosecutors, should they want this case to fail. DNA evidence linking the rapist to crime can easily be tampered with. Evidence of the scratches sustained by the rapist on his back can be made to disappear. It has all been done before. Let's hope the publicity surrounding this case makes them think twice.