Bangkok Cabbie Rapes Passenger

 

CHIANGRAI TIMES – A Bangkok cabdriver previously convicted of a sexual assault was arrested for allegedly raping a female passenger earlier this week, a police said at a press conference late on Monday night.

Klongton police superintendent Pol Colonel Sittipab Baiprasert said a friend of the 26-year-old victim alerted police that the woman was being raped in Pattanakarn Soi 32 and turned on her cell-phone’s speaker so police heard the woman was in danger.

Police rushed to the scene to find the victim walking in the soi and interviewed her. The victim gave a detailed description of her attacker and his taxi licence plate, which led to the arrest of the driver at a rented house in On Nut Soi 17.

Noppadon Tabanrai, 30, reportedly confessed to police that he saw the victim, wearing short pants, and felt aroused. With a traffic jam at the time, he tricked her to use a shortcut and raped her before fleeing the scene. He said he did not expect the victim to answer her phone while being raped, which led police to catch him rapidly.

Police found that Noppadol was jailed five years ago for assaulting and attempting to rape a Philippine woman, who was also a taxi passenger at the time. He was only released three months ago.