A Myanmar man who raped and choked a five-year-old girl to death in Tak province reenacted the assault yesterday amid tight police protection to prevent attacks from enraged bystanders.
Mae Sot police yesterday took Sarim, 28, to the forest behind a Muslim community in Mae Sot district to carry out the reenactment of the crime.
The girl's naked dead body was found on Saturday with wounds consistent with her having being tied with rope.
Sarim was arrested the same day with the case enraging the community in Mae Sot district, a border town opposite Myanmar with many residents from the country.
Many furious locals formed a crowd at the police station on Saturday and extra officers were deployed yesterday to ensure the reenactment could go ahead without disturbance.
Police said Sarim had confessed to inviting the girl for a walk with him while he was under the influence of illegal drugs.
He said he took the girl into a nearby patch of woods where he carried out the assault.
He said he had not intended to kill the victim but his efforts to stifle her screams had resulted in her death.
Sarim told police he had panicked and hid the body in bushes nearby before fleeing the scene.
According to police, the suspect had served an eight-year sentence in jail for rape and murder before moving to work in Thailand.
Pol Maj Gen Parinya Wisitdakul, chief of Tak provincial police, said the arrest had occurred after locals tipped off his officers about the likely culprit.
Meanwhile, in Kanchanaburi, provincial police took Korakot Sukdee, 28, who had been arrested for raping a deaf-mute woman, 27, on June 28, to reenact the crime at a rental house in Muang district.
According to investigators, the suspect had been released from prison in April after serving a sentence for theft.