Mae Ping Police told CityNews today that they arrested Khamlu Lungta, 31, to interrogate him after finding a missing 14 year old girl in his apartment in Sanphiseua.
The parents of the girl reported her missing from her home in Fang District on the 10th January. Police say that they tracked her to Chiang Mai city where they found her on the 19th January at Khamlu’s apartment.
Khamlu admitted to having sexual relations with the girl, claiming that she came to him willingly. He told police that he had been chatting with her on Facebook for four to five months and said that they had fallen in love. The girl had decided to come and see him of her own accord, he said, taking public transportation to the city where he picked her up.
Police are asking the public to be careful about internet use of children as this is the second case this week of a 14 year old child being found with an older man.
Khamlu told police that he had tried to tell her not to come to see him, but that she insisted. He said that he was surprised when she called to tell him that she was already in the city and asked him to go and pick her up. He then claimed to have told her to go home, but she only had 40 baht remaining of her 100 baht so he agreed to allow her to stay as he had fallen in love.
He then went on to say that he did not know that she was under 15, the age of consent in Thailand, claiming that her physique indicated that she was over 18.
He is being charge with statutory rape and kidnapping of a minor.
