THAI BESTIALITY ‘CLUB’: Police have filed charges against a 53-year-old Thai man after animal welfare organization Watchdog Thailand (WDT) provided videos and photos of him having sex with a dog and sharing them with a members-only “club” online.
Senior Sgt. Major Mongkhol Khamwang, head investigator of the case, told Coconuts in a phone interview yesterday evening that authorities are currently gathering evidence and preparing an investigation file in order to move forward with the prosecution.
As of press time, the alleged perpetrator, Dumrongpol Sarnmeung, has been released home after turning himself in at Sarapee Police Station in Chiang Mai province last week.
The case first came to authorities’ attention when Watchdog Thailand and the Chiang Mai Department of Livestock filed a police report against the bestiality club, known in local media as the “Bobo Group,” last Tuesday. (Editor: Bobo is a common dog’s name in Thailand.)
WDT alleges that, as leader of the group, Dumrongpol would invite members to join the LINE and Facebook group for a fee of THB200 (about US$6).
In these groups, he would share photos of videos of people having sex with dogs, keep members updated on canines available for abuse, and reveal the location of the house where members could come and have their way with the animals themselves.
Dumrongpol collected and groomed these streets dogs when they were young, according to The Nation.
WDT, which regularly conducts undercover investigations of animal abuse, stated that it took more than a year to track down the location of the house where the abuse was taking place.
WDT has not yet responded to our request for comment.
“The perpetrator told us that he’s been doing this for 10 years now, which is about when our photo evidence dates back to,” said Sgt. Major Mongkhol.
“He’s confessed to posting the photos and videos in the groups, but he denies having sex with the dogs. However, we have enough evidence against him to press charges,” he continued.
Dumrongpol is facing two charges: violation of the 2014 Thai Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animals Act — punishable by two years of imprisonment or a fine of THB40,000 (US$1,200) — and violation of article 14 of the Computer Act prohibiting the promotional of obscene objects online, which is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of THB100,000 (US$3,000).
The investigator guarantees that the perpetrator will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
“This case is especially inhumane. We want to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
