An army sergeant major based in Khon Kaen is being investigated after he was placed under arrest for allegedly using a gay dating app to rape more than 75 boys, the army said yesterday.
Sgt Maj Jakkrit Komsing, 43, attached to the Prem Tinsulanonda army camp, has been remanded in police custody in Nam Phong district of Khon Kaen.
The soldier, who allegedly has HIV/Aids, is facing a disciplinary probe while the police look into the case, said Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, acting commissioner of the Immigration Bureau (IB). Pol Maj Gen Surachate announced Sgt Maj Jakkrit's arrest in Nam Phong district yesterday. He was apprehended there on Tuesday.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate said police nabbed him at his house and charged him with raping minors and making them engage in illegal conduct, among other charges.
The police were alerted by one of the victims, who filed a complaint online with the Information Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (Tactics), of which Pol Maj Gen Surachate is deputy director.
The IB acting commissioner said the complainant claimed he was raped inside a car when the pair met for first time.
Tactics worked with the police's anti-human trafficking operation to track down the soldier.
Sgt Maj Jakkrit allegedly used the Blued app to lure boys, mostly under 15, to his Facebook page, called Jakkrit Komsing.
Many boys were attracted to the page, where he posted pictures of an attractive young man and falsely claimed they were photos of himself.
During their online conversations, the suspect would allegedly ask the victims to send him photos of themselves posing nude.
He reportedly used these to blackmail them later, Pol Maj Gen Surachate said.
Meanwhile, deputy army spokeswoman Col Sirichan Ngathong yesterday described it as a personal matter and said the sergeant had not used his position in the army to any advantage as he abused the boys.
She said the probe would be conducted fairly and it was hard for the army to detect the misconduct of personnel.
