Teacher accused of rape faces threat-to-kill charge

BURI RAM: A teacher accused of the statutory rape of a primary school girl in Nang Rong district will face an additional charge of threatening to kill her family if she told anyone.

Police initially pressed three counts against Kittiphop Karnram, 33, a physical education teacher at a school in Nang Rong district, of depriving a girl under 15 of parental care, indecent behaviour with a girl under 13, and raping a girl under 15, said Pol Capt Sakchai Kittiudomphan of Nang Rong police station.

He said police examined the suspect’s quarters in the school grounds on Thursday.

The police case would be submitted to prosecutors by the end of this month. Investigators were still gathering evidence and would later press an additional charge of intimidation against the teacher, he said.

The scandal came to light when the parents of the 12-year-old girl filed a complaint with Nang Rong police against Mr Kittiphop, alleging he lured their daughter into his accommodation on June 24. The teacher also sent a chat message asking the girl not to forget to take birth-control pills.

He later allegedly threatened to kill all her family if she told others about what happened.

Mr Kittiphop, also known as “Khru Boy”, later allegedly admitted to having sexually abused the girl and was detained in custody. Two fellow teachers signed as guarantors and submitted a bail request to Nang Rong provincial court for his release on July 21.

This drew an angry response from the parents and local residents, who protested against the school director and the two teachers.

Bowing to the mounting anger, the two guarantors withdrew, and the suspect was returned to court custody.