Rethink this London trip

Rethink this London trip

Just when it seemed the story had plumbed the depths, the unsavoury claim of a June 25 drugging and rape on already infamous Koh Tao has turned worse. Pol Maj Gen Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn has announced an imminent trip to London. There, he claimed late last week, he intends to interrogate the 19-year-old woman who claims to be the victim. Pol Maj Gen Surachate, the high-profile deputy chief of the Tourist Police Bureau, has quite loudly doubted the woman's claim she was a crime victim. He said his London visit could end up proving the rape claim was false.

There are so many things wrong with this development. The overwhelming one is that Pol Maj Gen Surachate seems comfortable with confronting and interrogating "Issy", as the media has identified the woman. This is exactly the opposite of how people reporting crimes should be handled by police, and most especially female victims of possible sexual assaults. Indeed, in one of the many ironies that "Big Joke" has brought to this case, it is why female police officers are supposed to handle testimony from such crimes.

From the moment he entered this case, Pol Maj Gen Surachate's primary purpose has been seen by the public and media to protect the image of Thailand. Another horrific crime on Koh Tao, a quite mistaken theory goes, would harm that image and possibly cause foreign travellers to stay away. This is another of the many errors of Pol Gen Surachate and others. An isolated crime, no matter how terrible, will not deter visitors. But tourists will stop going to a place which projects an image of a biased police force that even is willing to cover up or deal carelessly with crime.

Rightly or wrongly, that is the current reputation of the beautiful Surat Thani island. In the past four years, there have been seven deaths of foreign visitors under mysterious circumstances. The worst were on Sept 15, 2015, when two young British tourists, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed in a bloody rampage on the same Koh Tao beach where "Issy" now claims to have been brutally attacked. Real and reported police blundering in the Witheridge-Miller murders, with the hugely controversial arrests and convictions of two Myanmar workers, opened the floodgate of reports and led to the nickname for Koh Tao given by the tabloid press of London: Death Island.

The police investigation of the alleged drugging rape of June 25 has either been highly biased and incomplete, or major detective work has been kept from the public. As "Big Joke" has noted repeatedly, there are holes in the story of the London woman. But that is completely normal for a young, battered female. The alleged victim made huge errors, especially in ignoring the pleas to report the crime by the owner of the hostel where she stayed. There is a he-said-she-said dispute over whether she reported the rape to Koh Phangan police and a downright claim by Pol Maj Gen Surachate that the woman lied.

A report from London at the weekend said "Sarah", the mother of the alleged victim, has already barred "Big Joke" from speaking with her daughter. This was to be expected. When British police tried to join the Witheridge-Miller case in late September of 2015, the military regime and Royal Thai Police let them observe some of the investigation. They were barred from speaking to witnesses or developing any crime-detecting theory. It seems likely Pol Maj Gen Surachate will receive reciprocal courtesy if he goes to London.

The very usefulness of his trip is questionable. Police in Britain and the Royal Thai Embassy in London seem better suited to handle any interview with "Issy", as well as her travelling companions. Whether the young woman is truthful about what happened on June 25 is better left for now to the authorities in her country.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (34)