CHON BURI: A 32-year-old man has demanded that police apologise and pay compensation for mistakenly arresting and detaining him for 20 days for the rape of a Danish woman three years ago.
Banleng Huadcharoen said police from the Huai Yai station arrested him in early October 2014 after a Danish tourist was raped at a cassava plantation in tambon Huai Yai of Bang Lamung district on Sept 27 that year.
The victim had filed a complaint with local police and her relatives offered a reward of 50,000 baht for the arrest of her attacker.
Mr Banleng, who lives in Huai Yai, said he was detained at the Pattaya Remand Prison for 20 days until another local man aged 30 was arrested for the rape.
However, by that time Mr Banleng's name had already been widely reported in news stories about the crime and it could still be found online. The subsequent arrest of the real suspect received little coverage and he was not named.
Ever since his arrest, Mr Banleng said, he has struggled to clear his name. His wife and relatives had to gather evidence to prove that he was with his wife in Chanthaburi at the time the crime was committed.
After his release, he said, Huai Yai police offered 20,000 baht in compensation but he demanded they hold a news conference to publicly clear his name. The local police have been silent since.
Mr Banleng said he had filed complaints with many organisations including the government's complaint centre, the Justice Ministry and the Royal Thai Police Office, but to no avail.
His arrest caused trouble to him and his family, he said, and he could not apply for a job as his name remained on the public record as a rape suspect in nationwide media.