An alarming number of young female students have been raped - with two brutally killed - in the past month, police say.
The high risk of attack for students living away from their families has shocked police. Many of the victims are in their teens. In the past three weeks, two female students have been strangled to death and raped by criminals who made off with their valuables. "There are no places considered safe for girl students - even their own rooms," said a police officer who was stunned by reports of students being raped and killed in their apartments.
On May 19, Naritsa Maneeprasit, 20, a student at Khuan Khanun Industrial and Community Education College in Phatthalung's Khuan Khanun district, was found dead in her bedroom.
She had been raped and her neck bound by an electrical cord. The girl had lived alone in an apartment opposite her school.
A day earlier, police arrested Thammachai Panfak, 29, on suspicions he strangled a junior student at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in Bangkok in August last year.
Police said Mr Thammachai admitted killing Panupan Jansing, 21, in her room before making off with a computer laptop and a mobile phone.
He had just been freed after serving a jail term for selling drugs.
Mr Thammachai went to a condominium in Wang Thonglang district to collect money to buy methamphetamines from his friend. While waiting for his friend on the ground floor, he saw Panupan enter the building. Police said he followed the girl to her room and burst in. He told police he killed Panupan for her valuables.
He had been charged earlier with raping a 57-year-old woman.
Another victim was Saranya Chuaykrajang, 20, of Rajamagala University of Technology Phra Nakhon, who was raped and killed on April 27 at a house built about 50 metres from her home in Taling Chan district. Construction worker Ranong Buapan, 37, was arrested about a week later.
Mr Ranong said he threw a fish net to entrap the girl as she was walking home. Police said he strangled the girl with a rope, raped her, then fled with 720 baht.
Criminology expert Amorn Wanichwiwatana, of Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty, said many teenage girls chose to live away from their families, either in dormitories or in apartments near universities. The convenience and privacy at these places sometimes came at the cost of their safety. "Their environment is so weak as it is made up mainly of inexperienced teen girls living together without being cared for by adults," he said. Worse, Mr Amorn said, their tight-fitting dresses appear to put them in danger. Girls are aware that men are attracted to the uniform, so they are willing to wear it to catch their attention, despite the efforts of campaigns to stop the practice.
KC: This is an alarming news story and the incidence of rape remains high in Thailand, see: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita. Two rape victims in the last three weeks have also been murdered and the details of those murders are shocking. The Bangkok Post report concludes by quoting the wise words of 'Criminology expert' Amorn Wanichwiwatana who asserts that the "weak environment" of "inexperienced teen girls" and "tight-fitting dresses" worn by "girls" explains the high incidence of rape. Why must the victims be blamed for the terrible crimes inflicted upon them? Where is Amorn's mention of the underlying reasons behind these incidents, such as social exclusion, mental illness, drug addiction etc etc? When 'Criminology experts' blame the victims, what hope is there to tackle the root causes of rape and murder in society?
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