Norwegian backpacker, 26, was ‘raped in an alleyway on Thailand’s notorious Full Moon Party island’

Norwegian backpacker, 26, was ‘raped in an alleyway after going looking for her purse in the early hours on Thailand’s notorious Full Moon Party island’

  • A 26-year-old Norwegian was duped into getting on the back of a scooter
  • She had been looking for her purse after attending the Half Moon Party
  • In the early hours of Sunday she was offered help by a man on a bike
  • The suspect, 33, allegedly kicked and punched her before raping her in an alley

Rewat Hansuwan, 33, has allegedly confessed to raping the woman

A 26-year-old Norwegian woman was raped on Thailand’s notorious Full Moon Party island while looking for her purse in the early hours of the morning, police said.

The backpacker had been partying on the beach on Koh Phangan before returning to her hostel on Saturday night at 11pm.

She went back out with a friend to search for her missing wallet then returned again on he own at around 3am to look again.

CCTV shows a Thai man stopping on his scooter and offering to help, before she climbed on the back and rode away with him.

However, when he refused to stop she jumped off and was allegedly kicked and punched in the ribs before being raped in an alleyway behind a nearby Big C supermarket. One of her sandals was left at the scene.

The woman immediately complained to police and said she was too drunk to recall the nationality of the man.

CCTV footage shows the moment the suspect approached the 26-year-old Norwegian woman on the scooter in the early hours of Sunday morning

CCTV footage shows the moment the suspect approached the 26-year-old Norwegian woman on the scooter in the early hours of Sunday morning

Rape suspect Hansuwan took part in a re-enactment on Tuesday, with a female Thai officer in a blonde wig on the back of the scooter playing the role of his alleged victim

Rape suspect Hansuwan took part in a re-enactment on Tuesday, with a female Thai officer in a blonde wig on the back of the scooter playing the role of his alleged victim

Officers checked CCTV and found the bike and the owner Rewat Hansuwan, 33, on Monday night.

He was identified as a former convict who had only been released from prison for drugs offences a few hours earlier on Saturday afternoon and started work on the island as a mechanic.

Police said Hansuwan matched the images in CCTV and he allegedly confessed to raping the young woman.

The suspect Hansuwan demonstrates his alleged crime before officers on Koh Phangan island on Tuesday

The suspect Hansuwan demonstrates his alleged crime before officers on Koh Phangan island on Tuesday

Police were able to trace the suspect to the Honda Fino scooter which was registered to a motorcycle repair shop

Police were able to trace the suspect to the Honda Fino scooter which was registered to a motorcycle repair shop

He was pictured on his bike with an officer wearing a blonde wig on the back playing the role of his alleged victim on Tuesday.

Police Lieutenant General Phongwut Phongsri said: ‘Police were informed of the attack at approximately 4am on Sunday morning.

‘The victim had been to the Half Moon party and returned to her hostel. She told us she had been deceived by by the Thai man while she was looking for her purse.

‘The suspect offered to help her then took her to an alleyway behind the Big C store where he violated her.’

Officers checked CCTV and identified the Honda Fino scooter which was traced to a nearby motorcycle repair shop. There they found Hansuwan and he was arrested.

Officers on the beach on Koh Phangan where the alleged victim had gone searching for her wallet in the early hours of Sunday

Officers on the beach on Koh Phangan where the alleged victim had gone searching for her wallet in the early hours of Sunday

Thai officers arresting the suspect on Monday evening after they traced the scooter on CCTV

Thai officers arresting the suspect on Monday evening after they traced the scooter on CCTV

Lieutenant General Phongsri said the man confessed to the attack when he was shown the CCTV of him picking up the woman on his motorcycle.

The police chief added: ‘The suspect was released from prison on Koh Samui for narcotics offences on Saturday. He will now be detained in police cells while the case proceeds according to the law.’

The incident is the latest example of young female tourists being raped on Thailand’s notoriously dangerous islands.

Thai officers stand with the rape suspect seated in front of them as he is questioned on Monday

Thai officers stand with the rape suspect seated in front of them as he is questioned on Monday

The suspect allegedly kicked and punched the woman's ribs before violating her in an alleyway

The suspect allegedly kicked and punched the woman’s ribs before violating her in an alleyway

Last month in April, German backpacker Mirian Beelte was brutally raped and murdered on Koh Sichang by a local Thai man.

While on April 15 on Koh Phi Phi, a 21-year-old female British backpacker was raped after falling asleep on a Thai holiday island while celebrating the country’s new year.

Last September, a British teenager was banned from Thailand after complaining that she had been raped on the island of Koh Tao.

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