PUBLISHED : 11 Nov 2023 at 05:00
KHON KAEN: An investigation found an allegation made by the family of a 13-year-old girl, accusing a van driver of drugging and raping her, was groundless.
Police said on Friday that the girl was not drugged and raped by the van driver, whose name was withheld.
On Monday, the van driver surrendered to Waeng Noi police in Khon Kaen, insisting on his innocence. He brought his van along to be examined by investigators.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred on Oct 1, after the girl’s parents decided to hire a public van to drive their daughter from Khon Kaen to Bangkok. The family filed a complaint with the police against the van driver on Nov 3 after seeing the victim’s behaviour change on Oct 31 when she met the same driver.
Pol Maj Gen Anuwat Suwannapoom, commander of the Khon Kaen Provincial Police Station, said on Friday that a thorough investigation had been conducted by police covering as many dimensions as possible.
After questioning other passengers who rode in the same van with the girl, the passengers said that the van picked her up at her house in Waeng Noi district before dropping her off at a spot where her father was waiting for her.
The van headed towards the destination on the day, and nothing significant happened during the ride, according to the investigation.
Investigators, led by Pol Col Kachen Yuenyong, deputy commander of the Khon Kaen Provincial Police, and Pol Col Sommart Mangthaisong, Waeng Noi Police Station superintendent, then questioned the girl with the interdisciplinary team after receiving approval from a medical team.
“The girl admitted to investigators that nothing happened,” said Pol Maj Gen Anuwat. This closed the case.
As the driver turned himself in on Monday, Pol Maj Gen Anuwat said that no detention was applied against him, adding that the investigators had followed all procedures while investigating him, including GPS rechecking.