A man alleged to have repeatedly raped a seven-year-old girl in Kratie province’s Snuol district will be sent to court on Tuesday, the provincial police said.
The unidentified 68-year-old suspect was arrested on Sunday after the victim’s mother lodged a complaint at the district police station, Nov Ratana, the provincial deputy police chief in charge of anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection, said on Monday.
Ratana said the suspect had confessed to raping the minor multiple times since March. “He said he regretted that he committed the crime and wanted to commit suicide by hanging himself,” she said.
She said the victim’s mother noticed on Sunday that her daughter looked pale. When the former asked the girl what had happened, the latter refused to answer.
Ratana said the mother took her daughter to take a bath when she noticed something unusual in her genitals. The mother asked the victim repeatedly about it but to no avail.
It was later revealed that the girl did not dare to admit that she had been raped because she was afraid that the suspect would kill her.
The victim then told her mother to ask her older daughter regarding the incident. After being informed of what had happened, Ratana said, the mother filed a report at the district police station.
Snuol district police chief Chan Sok Kim said the suspect and the victim are neighbours, and that the man had often lured the girl by giving her some cash and food.
The girl was sent to the provincial referral hospital for a medical check-up after police arrested the suspect pursuant to her mother’s complaint, Sok Kim added.