Making it up as they go along
A former soldier is appealing for justice from the tabloid press after he and three fellow defendants were wrongly jailed for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in Chiang Mai four years ago.
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| Tent |
Chonlakorn “Tent” Phansaart, a sergeant based in Sa Kaew at the time of the alleged attack, has gone public with his plea after being released from jail earlier this month following a two-year, eight-month spell for abduction of a minor.
A lower court sentenced him to life for rape and abduction, but the Appeal and Supreme courts overturned the convictions in stages as Tent fought for justice and ultimately cleared his name of the worst of it. The case has sparked calls for justice law and media reform.
Tent says he has been freed from jail only to find his life in tatters. His wife and child have left him, he lost his job in the military, he is carrying debt from the legal battle to clear his name, and society has branded him as a convicted rapist. He says the tabloid press must carry part of the blame, as the public is influenced by what it gets from the media.
“Thais ask me if I was released as part of a pardon to mark the King’s coronation, as if I am still a wrong-doer. In fact, the Supreme Court overturned the rape conviction and declared us innocent, but few people know about it.
“Meanwhile, the tabloid press which carried stories at the time of our arrest, claiming we confessed and that forensic evidence put us in the frame, none of which was true, have yet to correct their reports or take responsibility,” Tent said in a series of TV appearances last week.
Tent posted images of prominent dailies which carried front-page reports of his plight for days when he and three friends were arrested in July, 2015.
Tent says he joined his friends for a drink outside their house in Mae Sae on July 1. He was there a short time when the home owner took a call from a girl he knew who wanted to join the gathering.
Tent, who arrived on his bike, went back home to fetch his car and together with the house owner they went to pick up the girl. They returned to his friend’s place and they carried on drinking before Tent left an hour later.
He said did not know the girl or realise the girl was under-age, but the next day was contacted by the house owner to say she had laid a complaint of rape. “I went to see my friends and asked how it could happen. They were still hung over but insisted they did nothing to her. The girl was demanding 40,000 baht each in return for which she would drop her complaint, but it went ahead anyway. The other three paid up, but I fought on.”
Tent says he turned himself in to police after alerting his superiors at his army base. He obtained bail to fight the case after serving a year and one month inside.
The court of first instance found he and the others had raped and abducted the girl. The court sentenced him to life in jail plus six years, but said his testimony was useful so reduced it by a third, which left 37 years and four months to serve.
“My heart was destroyed at that moment. I asked, is this justice? My parents, friends and I cried in front of the bench. We were being sent to jail even though we were not in the wrong, and the evidence showed I was innocent. The forensic evidence showed no one interfered with her, there was no sign of force, semen, no wounds — so on what basis did they decide I was guilty?” he asked.
Brighter news was to come when the Appeal Court threw out the rape charge, which left just a charge of abducting a minor with intent to molest, which carried a penalty of four years.
However, the Supreme Court found that conviction, too, was unsound, and threw out the molestation component, which left a sentence of just two years and eight years for abduction.
Tent says he almost lost his life when an inmate cut his throat after an argument, but was saved when others pulled the attacker off him. Now he is out, he is warning of the perils of an unrestrained tabloid press, although law reform campaigners are calling also for broader reform of the justice system itself.
“The media is making money out of others’ suffering ... the feeling of loss can’t be erased. It’s time Thais stood up and demanded better ... if not, such an incident could occur again and it could even be you next time,” he wrote on Facebook.
Since leaving his initial public appeal for help, Tent says none of the tabloid mastheads which smeared his reputation have bothered to get in touch. “They ran stories for days saying we had confessed, the evidence implicated us, and we had taken drugs, none of which was true. I never met any reporters. What right do they have to make such accusations before finding out the facts?” he asked.
One television news show also spoke to the owner of the house who, like Tent, is having trouble getting back on his feet. He said the girl had joined them for drinks three or four times before.
“I spoke brusquely to the girl on the day she laid her complaint, saying: ‘So you are accusing me of rape, are you?’ She replied saying, You didn’t do anything, phee, don’t interfere’ ... but she went and accused us anyway. I would like to tell her not to do it again to anyone else, because we all know what really happened,” he said.
Commenting on the case, Somsri Anantasuk, coordinator of police monitoring group Police Watch, said recent law changes toughening the law for rape might look good on the surface.
However, the justice system needs closer scrutiny, as flaws particularly at the police investigation stage can result in scapegoats being unfairly accused of crimes they did not commit. Under the law changes, they will face heavier potential penalties as a result.
Tent says he has asked the army to let him return to work, and awaits their word.
Janie’s expecting at last
Actress Janie Tienphosuwan has announced she is pregnant, ending a long wait among her fans eager for Janie to start a family after she married her fitness instructor husband last October.
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| Mickey, Janie |
Reporters asked her last month if she was pregnant, after noticing a slight swelling to her belly, but Janie was non-commital. She did, say, however, that she was ready to start a family with her husband Mickey Allapach Na Pombhejara, but had to clear up commitments to two soap operas first.
Reports suggest she wanted to get beyond the three month pregnancy mark first before declaring her hand. In her IG message last week, Janie posted an ultrasound image of her unborn child, which doctors say looks to be about four or five months old. The sex is as yet unknown.
“We’ve been waiting for a while to share our lovely news, my heart is so full right now, we can’t wait to welcome our lil one to this world!” she wrote.
Her message has drawn more than 457,435 likes as fans count down to the big day. Husband Mickey also joined in, posting an accompaying message to the ultrasound image. “Future athlete in progress — we love you so very much already, our love Mommy & Daddy,” he wrote.
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