A Sai Mai police officer accused of attempted rape by a university student reported to Lat Phrao police on Monday to acknowledge the three charges brought against him.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Nimit Kaechaipoom was charged with luring a person with the intent to commit lewd acts with her, damaging assets and physical assault. He denied all charges and vowed to fight the case in court.
The 19-year-old victim, whose name and university are withheld, alleged the officer offered her a ride home from Sai Mai police station on Wednesday last week, but instead took her to a marn rood, or curtained hotel, in Lat Phrao, to rape her. She managed to escape and subsequently registered a complaint with Lat Phrao police.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Nimit said he only drove her home, and would discuss other details only in court. He was allowed police bail after he offered his position as a policeman as collateral.
The 19-year-old second-year student, accompanied by Paveena Hongsakul of the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Women and Children, met Sai Mai police station chief Tawatkiat Jindakuansanong on Monday afternoon where she handed over the shirt she had been wearing the night of the incident as evidence.
She sought the foundation's support on Saturday, saying she feared unfair treatment by police because Pol Snr Sgt Maj Nimit had contacted her to offer her a 25,000-baht bribe to withdraw the complaint.
According to the student, the incident began when she accompanied her friend, a Sai Mai district resident with a drug problem, to the station last Wednesday to see if she could join a treatment programme.
When Pol Snr Sgt Maj Nimit recorded her statement, he asked for her phone number. After the two women left, the officer called and asked her to return to the station alone to correct some information.
He offered her a ride home and she agreed. When the officer turned his car into the motel instead, she said she opened the door to flee but the officer grabbed her arm.
She finally broke free and left the car with her shirt torn. The officer chased her in his car, but she managed to flee in a taxi.
The officer has been temporarily dismissed from duty pending possible prosecution and a disciplinary inquiry by the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Division 2.