A family friend arrested after being found with a 14-year-old runaway girl from Bangkok has been charged with sexually abusing the girl, according to police.
Ronnachit Bamrungchit, 52, faces a prior charge of depriving the girl of her parent's care on Friday when he was arrested in Chiang Mai. The girl is a classmate of Mr Ronnachit's daughter.
The latest charge has been pressed against the man after he allegedly admitted to police that he had sex with the girl last June in his car after he took her to a hypermarket in Bangkok where he tutored her, according to the investigators.
The police report on the case was submitted to the court yesterday along with a request to further detain Mr Ronnachit. The request was approved by the court.
The girl was first reported missing from home by her parents on Dec 27. They alerted police at the Phlap Plachai 1 police station 24 hours later as they feared for her safety, and later contacted the Crime Suppression Division. Police finally found the girl in Chiang Mai on Thursday night in a hotel with Mr Ronnachit.
The man was charged for taking a minor from her parents, based on an arrest warrant approved by the South Bangkok Criminal Court. He was taken from Chiang Mai for interrogation and to formally hear the charge at Phlap Plachai 1 station on Friday. The offence carries a fine from 4,000 to 20,000 baht and/or a jail term from two to 10 years.
It was reported Mr Ronnachit picked the girl up after a school exam and drove her from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Dec 27.
The man has known the family for a long time and was a regular visitor to the girl's home. He tutored her and often took her to and from school.
After he was arrested, Mr Ronnachit at first refused to answer police questions about whether he had an intimate relationship with the girl. He told police he took the girl to Chiang Mai on a "sightseeing trip".
Police met the pair at their hotel, following a review of security camera footage.
The court yesterday approved the police's request to further detain the man for 12 days while the police expanded the investigation. Mr Ronnachit did not seek bail.
