Singer Accuses Police Volunteer of Sexual Assault at Checkpoint
Singer Lamyai Haithongkham alleges a female police volunteer sexually assaulted her during a checkpoint body search in Rayong province, groping and scratching her chest. Multiple other women have since come forward with similar accusations against the same volunteer. A lawyer confirms volunteers lack legal authority to conduct body searches and the volunteer could face criminal charges including sexual assault and up to one year in prison.
On November 7, Ms. Nongnuch, 40, known professionally as singer Lamyai Haithongkham, spoke to the media after a female police volunteer searched her and allegedly groped her chest, scratching her with her nails. The incident occurred around 3:00 AM on November 6 after she finished a performance and was driving home on Highway 3574. At the Ko Kloy intersection in Mueang Rayong district, she encountered a checkpoint manned by Mueang Rayong municipal police. Because she is a woman, officers asked a female volunteer to search her for illegal items. She consented to a respectful search, but the volunteer reached inside her shirt and used her nails to scratch her chest area. When she tried to cover herself, the volunteer told her to remove her hands and continued the search, finding nothing illegal. She later posted about the volunteer's behavior on social media, prompting several other women to comment that they had suffered the same treatment from the same volunteer at Mueang Rayong checkpoints. She believes police should use female officers, not volunteers, to search women, and wants the volunteer to apologize at the police station. Lawyer Paisan Ruangrit stated that while police may stop and search in public areas with consent, only authorized female officers may search women. Volunteers have no search authority; searching intimate areas could violate Article 145, punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a 20,000 baht fine, plus potential charges of sexual assault and unlawful detention.
