Damning statistics – only 13% of Thai rapes end in convictions, report

A National Police report on rape revealed this week shows only a fraction of cases result in the perpetrator facing justice.

It has been claimed that there are almost four rapes an hour in Thailand – but many of these go unreported and fewer still end in the courts.

Celebrated and scandalous cases in the public eye remain unresolved, reported Tnews.

The news media was looking at cases of rape from 2009 to 2013.

Of an average of 4000 cases per year that were actually reported only an average of 2,400 resulted in convictions.

But police surveys suggested that rape cases were much higher than that.

Police admitted themselves that the likely incidence of rape in Thailand was likely to be 30,000 cases per year roughly equating to four an hour.

This meant a clear up rate of just 13%.

In 2009 there were almost 5,000 reported rapes, only half of which were cleared up.

Tnews said that celebrated cases such as the Phitsanulok gang rape of July 1977 remained largely unresolved highlighting poor police procedures.

In this case a woman found mutilated on the railway tracks was presumed the victim of an accident by the cops.

A subsequent investigation by reporters into inaccuracies forced them to reopen the case.

It was then found that 30 men had gang raped the victim and put her on the tracks to die to cover up the crime.

Only eight or nine men ever faced the courts in that case.

No explanation was given in the Tnews story as to why the statistics mentioned came from the years 2009 to 2013 and were not more recent.

Thai Visa / TNews

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