Analyst: Thai army protecting the Thahan Phran for alleged gang rape ‘beyond imagination’

[Thai authorities have dismissed reports of the gang-rape of a Cambodian migrant worker by Thai soldiers as ‘fake news’, despite conducting no investigation. Supplied]

Kin Phea, a prominent political analyst, said it was “beyond the realm of human understanding” that the Thai army has attempted defended the black-clad border guards who alleged gangraped a Cambodian migrant worker. He said a professional army demonstrate the courage needed to investigate the allegation, rather than hiding behind claims of “fake news”.

A Cambodian woman, 18, has filed a complaint to the Battambang police, accusing seven Thai “Thahan Phran” of sexually assaulting her on the night of November 15, as she and several other migrant workers travelled back to Cambodia via an entry in Battambang province.

The Royal Thai Army, instead of taking responsibility and launching an enquiry, dismissed the allegations as fake news.

Phea believed that the incident transcends current border issues between the two neighbouring kingdoms and must be investigated by the Thai authorities.

“All of the Thai Thahan Phran soldiers must be taken accountability for their cruelty and crime they committed on a Cambodian migrant worker,” he said.

“The Thai army chief, as a professional leader, should make an effort to find the truth behind the alleged criminal deed committed by the soldiers under their command. They should not deny it or attempt to transfer blame onto Cambodia, or the woman at the centre of the case. She is the true victim,” he said.

“In the eyes of the world, defending their subordinates of such a heinous crime is unjust for the victim and makes Thailand look like that they are protecting the perpetrators. It is beyond human imagination,” he added.

-The Phnom Penh post-