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British Pensioner Beaten, Robbed and Sexually Abused in Thai Jail

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Dave Campbell, 68, from Manchester, who was locked up in a Thai prison for eight months

Dave Campbell, 68, from Manchester, who was locked up in a Thai prison for eight months

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RAYONG – Dave Campbell, 69,  a British pensioner who is facing a manslaughter charge in Rayong, Thailand claims he was beaten, robbed and sexually abused behind bars.

Dave Campbell, who has lived in Thailand for two years, was severely injured in a motorbike crash in Ban Phe in Rayong Province last March.

After a French woman involved in the crash died, David was sent to a squalid jail, where he was allegedly battered and stolen from by Thai inmates.

During his time in the facility, he was also reportedly stripped naked and sexually assaulted by prison guards, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Dave, originally from Salford, Manchester, has since been released from jail on bail, but says he could face a manslaughter charge in connection with the incident.

Campbell spent more than three weeks in hospital – and another three weeks behind bars – after the motorcycle crash.

He was hauled before the courts after the French woman involved in the incident died.

Campbell said he has now been told by lawyers representing the woman’s partner in Thailand, they are now pushing for manslaughter charges to be brought against him.

Driving at night, Dave said he collided with another bike, which didn’t have its lights on, carrying three people who weren’t wearing helmets – a French man and woman and a local.

After being knocked unconscious, he was left with broken ribs and severe cuts and bruises. He said he nearly lost an eye in the incident and has been left suffering terrible memory loss.

After being discharged from hospital, Dave voluntarily went to a police station to tell officers he had been involved in the crash. He was told there was no record of the incident and thought the matter had ended there.

But around six weeks later, Dave was arrested and dragged to a police station.

He was told he faced an assault charge – and claimed officers tried to force him to sign a confession.

His phone was confiscated and he was denied access to a lawyer and British consular assistance.

After being taken to a cell, Dave’s friends attempted to bail him out. He said police initially asked for 10,000 Thai Baht – around £200 – but the price soon rocketed to 10 times that amount.

He was then taken to Rayong, shackled to three other prisoners, before being thrown in a cell with 30 ‘hardened criminals’ for three days.

Dave said he was then put in another jail for two weeks, where he was beaten and robbed by prisoners in a tiny cell – and ‘humiliated’ by laughing guards who sexually assaulted him after stripping him naked.

Dave has waived his right to anonymity as the victim of a sexual offence to speak about the harrowing details of his ordeal.

Now out of jail on bail, he said: “From the minute I was arrested, they were shouting at me, slapping me, prodding me.

“They wouldn’t let me speak to anyone and just said I was guilty. I’ve had no idea what’s been going on for 14 months.

“In prison, they made my life hell. The guards hit me for fun and the prisoners beat me and robbed me.

“I’m out of jail now, but I’ve been a prisoner for 14 months. It’s ruined my life, put me in thousands in debt through borrowing for hospital and legal bills, and put years on my life.

“I’m not the man I was.

“I’m still not entirely sure what I’m being accused of. All I know is that it was an accident.

“I’ve done nothing wrong, but I’ve been treated like a criminal and denied every basic human right.”

Around eight months after Dave was released from prison, the case reached court after the French man involved in the crash returned to Thailand, claiming his partner had died of her injuries.

Dave said French lawyers have told him manslaughter charges could be brought against him when the case continues on May 30, having been adjourned.

The Manchester Evening News contacted the Foreign Office who declined to comment on the case.

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