TRANG: A 13-year-old Lao girl, her mother and newborn sibling have been taken into protective shelter after a local politician's son allegedly gave her to his drug dealer to rape as a means of paying off his debt.
Pol Lt Col Chumpol Duangkong, chief interrogator at the Palian police station, said on Friday the mother and two children had been placed in a home for juvenile victims run by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
Police were taking legal action against a local men accused of giving the girl to the drug dealer for sex.
Nitaya Juthamas, chief of the care home, said the Lao girl had recovered mentally. She wanted to return to Laos but would have to stay at the facility in Trang pending the legal process.
Mrs Nitaya said social workers and volunteers accompanied the girl, her mother and the baby from a house in tambon Thung Yao of Paliang district on Wednesday. They had been hiding there, without any money, since the alleged rape on Jan 17. Local people informed officials and sought assistance.
The Lao family had worked for a local politician at a rubber seedling plantation for about six years.
In January a son of their employer had taken the 13-year-old girl and given her to his drug dealer to rape, to pay off his debt to him.