Mon woman, working in Samut Sakorn, raped by six men

April 30, 2008

WCRP

A sixteen-year-old Mon woman was raped and left for dead by a gang of six men in Maharchai, Samut Sakorn Province, Southern Thailand, reports her uncle, who recently spoke with a Mon human rights worker on the Thai-Burma border. In the early morning of March 29th, four men grabbed the girl and threw her into a car as she and another woman left a shop after buying food. The four men bound her with rope and beat her until she lost consciousness. They, along with two friends who were waiting outside of town, then raped her and left in the bushes, thinking her to be dead.

The incident is not an isolated one, reports an activist who works for labor rights in the province, “Burmese migrant women workers are raped by gang groups like this very often in Maharchai.” Two other similar cases are rumored to have happened in the same week, but could not be confirmed. Rape victims and their families are often reluctant to speak out or publicize the incidents, due to feelings of shame. The situations are especially difficult for migrant workers, who are more likely to be deported than helped by Thai authorities.

In many cases, victims or their families are forced to pay money to the abductors, or be sold into slavery as prostitutes. In this case, however, the men thought the victim to be dead and did not attempt to ransom or sell her. She awoke at ten that morning and, with the help of a trash collector working in the area, contacted her uncle who took her to a nearby hospital.

The woman, from Du Yar Village, Ye Township, has been working as an illegal factory night worker for six months. The girl, like many without a work permit, has had difficulties finding work and has had to settle for night work, from six pm until three am. During the day she has to hide in home of an uncle, who lives in Thailand legally.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News