The mother of a 7-year-old boy who claims her son was sexually abused by a high-ranking soldier filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) Thursday, demanding he be formally charged rather than receive a slap on the wrist.
The 47-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, handed her son's medical examination documents to the CSD as evidence.
The woman said she and her twin boys lived in a house inside a military compound in Trang. It was unclear what connection she had with the military that allowed her to live inside the camp.
On June 10, she noticed one of the boys was constantly going to the bathroom. She asked what was wrong and he said he had been sexually abused by a soldier from the military camp, the mother said, adding the accused holds the rank of sergeant major.
The mother took her son to hospital and test results showed evidence of sexual abuse, she said.
The mother then brought the matter to senior officers at the camp, hoping they would conduct an investigation and discipline the man.
Shortly afterwards, a military officer from the camp came to her house and offered 300,000 baht in damages to settle the matter, she said. She declined.
She then lodged a complaint with the Huai Yot district police. However there has been little progress in the police probe to date, the woman said.
She subsequently decided to raise the matter with the CSD in Bangkok.
The woman said the family has since moved out of the military camp and are staying with relatives "for safety reasons''.
Army spokesman Col Winthai Suvaree said Thursday the unit supervising the accused soldier concluded he had committed a disciplinary violation.
He was jailed for 15 days and has been suspended from service without pay, Col Winthai added.