A businessman has been arrested in Pathumwan district of Bangkok for allegedly raping a young woman who later jumped from a building in an attempt to take her life. She survived but with serious injuries.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) arrested Wachirawit (surname withheld), “Joe”, 42, the owner of a popular brand of banana snacks, at a luxury condominium on Soi Nai Lert off Phloenchit Road, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, investigative commander of the MPB, said on Thursday.
He was wanted on a warrant issued by the Bangkok South Criminal Court on March 20 on charges of forcibly raping a person who was not in a condition to resist, and intrusion at night.
The arrest followed a complaint by a 29-year-old woman who lived in the Silom area that the accused, who also ran a cannabis shop near her residence, had intruded into her house on the night of March 13. He appeared intoxicated when he entered her room and began to forcibly sexually abuse her, she said. She tried unsuccessfully to resist.
The woman subsequently fell unconscious and later woke up to see the man still sleeping on the bed. She immediately went to the Thung Mahamek police station to file a complaint.
According to police, the woman was crying, shaking and frightened when she arrived. Pol Capt Wiranchana Phaengkham, a female officer who was on duty at the time, tried to console the woman. The interrogation took more than six hours.
Four days later, the woman jumped from the fourth floor of a building in an apparent suicide attempt. Her body struck a third-floor balcony railing and she survived the fall. However, she has serious injuries and is in a semi-comatose state.
A police photo shows a building where the alleged rape victim jumped from the fourth floor in an apparent suicide attempt, but she struck a third-floor railing and survived the fall in serious condition. (Photo: IDMB Facebook, Metropolitan Police Bureau)
Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said investigators learned that the suspect was staying with his girlfriend at a luxury condominium in the Phloenchit area. They managed to arrest him in the lobby of the building.
During the arrest, Mr Wachirawit denied all charges. He told police that he owned a popular brand of banana snacks for export and graduated from abroad. He insisted he had not raped the woman, saying the sex was consensual.
He said his current girlfriend was not aware of his relationship with the woman, and only learned about it when he was arrested. Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said investigators were not convinced by his story.
The suspect was handed over to Thung Mahamek police for legal action.
Because the complainant is seriously injured from her fall, she has been unable to provide further information or fight the legal case. However, the testimony she gave earlier to the female officer while filing the complaint was useful, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.