Rape Victim And 'rapist's' Family Move For Retrial

[Flashermac]

Two years after the court sent a man to jail and seven years after she was raped, the victim does not understand why the man she says is the real rapist still walks free.

 

Now the woman and the family of the convicted man, and of the alleged real rapist, his younger brother, are striving for true justice.

 

"The one who is in jail is not the one (who raped me)," the victim, now 22, told FM100.5 news programme on Friday.

 

The woman was raped three times in 2006 in Pak Phanang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat, from Feb 17-20.

 

The district police arrested Sudsakorn Nukaew. There were two other arrested suspects. One was put under protection as a state witness and the other was a minor.

 

The Supreme Court sentenced Sudsakorn to 26 years in jail in 2011 on charges of raping an under-age girl, because the victim was only 15 at the time. Her name was suppressed. He is still behind bars at the provincial prison.

 

The victim and the father and elder sister of Sudsakorn all allege the real rapist is Sudsakorn's younger brother. They met officers at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) on Thursday and asked them to reopen the case.

 

The father, Jaruek Nukaew, said on Thursday the person who raped her was his fifth son, Jirayuth, nicknamed Boy, not his sixth son, Sudsakorn.

 

Jirayuth was ready to confess if there is a retrial, the 56-year-old father added.

 

Mr Jaruek said the family tried in vain several times to seek justice for the victim and his convicted son, but their call was ignored. He did not explain where he lodged his complaints.

 

The victim, who has a family and children, said she is still being taunted by the real rapists.

 

"The ones who raped me have not been punished and some have came back to tease me," she told the radio station. "I am embarrassed and stay away from my friends, as long as they are still out there," she said.

 

"I live until today because of my children," she added.

 

CSD officers questioned the victim and the suspects' family on Thursday.

 

Pol Col Anek Taosuphab, a CSD investigator, said he will forward the case to the division commander, who will decide whether the evidence carries enough weight to have the case reopened under the Retrial Act.

 

Lawyer Atchariya Ruangrattanapong said on Friday that the case involved 21 suspects, but only four were apprehended.

 

"Those working on the case twisted the facts," he said. "The investigators indicted only three of the 21 suspects," he added. "The one in jail is a scapegoat," he added.

 

Mr Atchariya claimed that a police officer in Pak Phanang working on the case had successfully requested he be transferred to a southern border province.

 

He was confident that there was enough evidence for a re-trial, he said.

 

Mr Jirayuth, the younger son, was reported as saying on Friday that he "feels guilty and i want to help my (elder) brother, because he did not commit the crime".

 

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/344124/victim-and-rapist-family-agree-his-younger-brother-did-it