Bangkok Post – Police arrest stalking and rape suspect

Man accused of following young female work colleague for months before assaulting her

A 45-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stalking and raping a former female work colleague, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB)

The man, identified only as Nutthaphon, was arrested on Friday night in the middle of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, near Don Mueang Airport, while driving on the road.

He was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on April 19, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, an MPB investigative commander.

According to investigation, Mr Nutthaphon was a driver working for the same company as the 22-year-old victim.

The victim told police that Mr Nutthaphon had befriended her to the point where he decided to change his position and become an IT service worker. He was reported to have stalked her for months while she rode a bus home.

The victim also said that the suspect asked her for excessively personal information that made her feel uncomfortable around him.

She told investigators that she was raped after she returned from a company party to her office around the end of last year. The suspect followed her, pulled her into the office’s gym where the assault took place.

The victim reported the incident to her employer and then filed a complaint with police at the Pracha Chuen station.

CCTV video from the office showed Mr Nutthaphon cleaning up the crime scene before leaving the gym. He then quit his job and fled, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.

He said it took some time for investigators to get a lead, but they finally managed to learn Mr Nutthaphon’s whereabouts. The arrest followed a car chase on Friday night.

Mr Nutthaphon denied he had stalked the victim, telling investigators he just looked out for her safety, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.

On the night of the alleged rape, he said he was trying to change the woman’s outfit because she was drunk and had vomited at the party. He then became aroused but just touched her body, he told investigators.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said further investigation is needed as the evidence points towards the suspect. Mr Nutthaphon was also said to regularly change jobs, so police are looking to see if similar incidents happened at other workplaces, he added.