Man caught for rape, blackmail

PATTANI: A man has been arrested in Yarang district for allegedly raping a woman and using nude photos to blackmail her into giving him 50,000 baht.

Police from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD)’s sub-division 6 apprehended Maleekee Jarong at a house in tambon Khao Toom, Yarang district, on Thursday morning

Maleekee, 29, was wanted on a warrant issued by the Samut Prakan Provincial Court for rape, performing obscene acts, taking and using obscene photos for profit and extortion.

The suspect, who lived in Pattani, has known the victim, 33, via Facebok since early this year. On March 20, he travelled from his home province to see her in Samut Prakan. He told her he was looking for a job but had no money to rent a room and then asked to stay with her. The woman initially refused but he successfully persuaded her to allow him in, according to a police investigation.

The man then seized this opportunity to rape her and then used his mobile phone to take her nude photos. He later allgedly blackmailed her into giving him the money or he would post the photos in social media.

After consulting her family, the woman refused to comply. Mr Maleekee then posted her photos on Facebook describing her as a sex worker. The woman filed a complaint with police.

Pol Col Kuekkong Ditsawat, superintendent of the ATPD’s sub-division 6, led police to arrest the man at his house in Yarang. He denied the charges and was brought to Samut Prakan’s Bang Sao Thong police station for legal action.