Bangkok : Police in Thailand have arrested 12 people who shared a Facebook post about a rape allegation by a British tourist who claims that the police refused to accept her complaint when she reported the crime.
Winyat Chatmontree, a lawyer for the 12 Thai men said on Thursday they were arrested in several different provinces this week for violating the Computer Crime Act. They could face up to five years in prison and fines for spreading false information and damaging national security.
Police deny turning away the British woman and say their investigation determined her claim of being raped on the island of Koh Tao in June was untrue.
The 19-year-old woman, who has since returned to England, has told journalists she believes she was drugged by someone who spiked her drink, and woke up on a beach to find that she had been raped and robbed.
“From our initial investigation, we concluded and reported to our police commissioner that at the moment there is no evidence or witnesses to prove that the incident has happened, not on a drug claim or a rape claim,” Deputy Tourist Police chief Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan, head of investigation, said.
Koh Tao, popular with backpackers, has gained an unsavory reputation since the murders of UK nationals Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, beaten to death on a beach there in 2014.