Pattaya police have arrested a 41-year-old Thai man for attempting to rob, rape, detain and set fire to a Chinese tourist in Chon Buri province on Sunday.
The suspect, identified only as “Tib”, allegedly confessed to police, claiming that he had initially tried to rape the tourist but, when that failed, he stole her belongings and tried to kill her by setting her on fire before escaping.
The crime has widely been reported in Thailand. On Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, there were, however, only two posts about the crime, but they received thousands of comments.
Most of the commentators maintained that Thailand remains a dangerous place for Chinese tourists. They wrote that they are not confident about travelling to Thailand, while others recommended that their compatriots do not visit Thailand.
They also said, despite the bilateral visa-free campaigns for Thais and Chinese, they remain afraid to come here.
A commentator wrote, “Thailand is not the same as before and is not safe for female tourists.”
Some have, however, written positive comments, saying that Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are still safe places for tourists. Some praised Thailand for its beautiful tourist attractions and delicious food.
The female victim, identified only as “Lin”, told police on Sunday that the suspect had offered her and her brother a motorcycle ride. The suspect took her on a circuitous route, before forcing her to get off the vehicle and tying her hands with a rope.
According to Lin, the suspect failed to rape her because she fought back. So, he then lit a fire around her, probably in an attempt to kill her, before escaping on the motorcycle.
She managed to escape by burning the rope around her wrists and contacted her brother before alerting the police.
The man who had offered her brother a ride showed up yesterday, denying that he had anything to do with the crime.
