Thai police have dismissed the allegation of a 19-year-old British woman who said she was raped and robbed on Koh Tao, saying there is simply no evidence to support her claim.
After sending investigators to question the alleged victim in London earlier this month, police said during a news conference this morning that they have closed the investigation as the young woman could not provide key details such as where the alleged rape occurred, a description of the suspect or how the alleged assault unfolded.
Police received a T-shirt the tourist wore on the day she was allegedly raped and said that forensic exams did not find any traces of semen on the garment.
“Investigators presented photographs of locations where the incident could have occurred [to her], but the alleged victim could not give details. Regarding the suspect’s appearance, we were only told that it was a bearded man with black hair. She could not identify whether he was tall or short, dark or light-skinned in order for us to make comparisons with potential perpetrators,” said Koh Tao police chief Lt. Col. Piyapong Boonkaew.
“We did not receive any information [from the woman] on how the the alleged attack and robbery unfolded, to compare with similar cases in the system,” he said.
Regarding the stolen debit cards, police said the young woman didn’t have her bank details.
“You can see that there is not evidence. Therefore, we’ve concluded the investigation.”
The case received international attention in August after the woman and her family spoke to British media that she woke up on in wee hours on June 26, to find that she had allegedly been raped and robbed on Sairee beach — the same area where British backpackers David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were brutally murdered in 2014.
The young woman carried on with her travel plan to Koh Phangan and filed police report there on June 27. That report, according to police, did not mention rape and focused solely on the theft of an iPhone 7, THB3,000 in cash, and four debit cards.
Deputy Tourist Police Chief Pol. Gen. Surachet Hakpan, who received heavy criticism after firmly denying the teen’s claim during the initial investigation, said today that this was the first time Thai investigators had flown overseas to question an alleged victim.
“The commissioner assigned us to reveal the truth, and this was the first time in history that we sent investigators to question an alleged victim abroad. This shows our commitment to find the truth and evidence to ensure fairness to her,” Pol. Gen. Suchart said.
“Today I’d like to tell you, the press, that we will not condemn anyone for this, and we only wanted to find the truth,” he said.
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