A 21-year-old Thai woman has accused her Iranian ex-husband of kidnapping her in full view of others and then detaining and raping her before shaving her head in a condominium in Pattaya.

The young woman, accompanied by a friend, filed a complaint with Pattaya police on Thursday night against her Iranian ex-husband.

According to the woman, she bumped into her ex-husband, who ran a condominium rental business in Pattaya, on Walking Street in South Pattaya at around 3.30am on Wednesday. He approached her and forcibly took her to his motorcycle. She called for help and an American tourist tried to intervene but two of the Iranian man's aides immediately blocked him and said it was a family affair. The aides threatened to assault the American man if he got involved, according to the woman, who was identified only as Nueng of Prachin Buri province.

The Iranian man then took her to a condominium in Jomtien, where she was handcuffed and detained, she said. He put a mask on her and repeatedly threatened her. He demanded that she return 30,000 baht he claimed that she owed him by October 15 or he would send his men to assault her. He made her sign a contract as evidence before raping her twice.

The man then shaved her head and forced her to stay in the room. She eventually asked if she could fetch her clothes from her room before returning to stay with him. Convinced, he let her leave.

She later consulted friends before deciding to file the complaint for fear of being assaulted. She said she feared for her own safety as he often sent her threatening messages. Police sent her to a hospital for a physical checkup and then coordinated with tourist police to locate the Iranian man.