CRIME

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT : A 26-year-old mechanic has been arrested for allegedly raping a Scottish woman in the southern province last Friday.

Pongpat: Wanted to offer first aid

Pongpat Po-soy, who works at a tyre shop in Muang district, was captured on Tuesday night at his house in tambon Pho Sadet of the district, police said yesterday.

The 20-year-old woman told police that a pickup truck containing four young men stopped while she was walking past a shophouse in Muang district early on Friday.

The men then dragged her inside the shophouse where at least two of them raped her.

According to investigators, Mr Pongpat told police that he initially wanted to give first aid to the woman, who had an injury to her knee, but later felt sexually aroused. He followed the woman to the shophouse's balcony on the second floor and tried to rape her twice but did not succeed.

Pol Maj Gen Ronnapong Saikaew, Nakhon Si Thammarat police chief, said the case was confusing because the victim was drunk and could not recall the incident well. She could not indicate whether Mr Pongpat was the rapist.

The victim's account that there were four attackers was not true based on their investigation, he said.

Samples of semen were found on the victim but it was not known whether it belonged to Mr Pongpat or the victim's boyfriend, with whom she had sex four days earlier, Pol Maj Gen Ronnapong said.

He said Mr Pongpat had confessed that he used his finger to abuse the victim and that could be considered as rape by law.

The suspect was taken yesterday to perform a crime re-enactment at a restaurant and the shophouse.

The victim left Thailand last night, police said.