Thai court overturns boxer’s attempted rape conviction

BANGKOK – A Thai appeals court overturned on Oct 20 a conviction for the attempted rape of a teenage girl handed to the country’s first Olympic gold medallist, but upheld his sentence for abduction.

Somluck Kamsing, now 53, became a national hero in Thailand when he won featherweight boxing gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He was found guilty in January 2025 of abduction for indecent purposes and attempted rape of a person aged between 15 and 18, and sentenced to just over three years in prison.

A regional appeals court in Khon Kaen dismissed the attempted rape conviction on Oct 20, saying the victim’s testimony contained “inconsistencies” and there was no evidence of coercion or threats.

Somluck’s sentence was adjusted to two years, the court said in a media statement.

A 17-year-old girl filed a complaint against Somluck in December 2023, saying he had assaulted her in a hotel in Khon Kaen, a city in Thailand’s north-east.

The court said on Oct 20 the pair met in a bar and she went back to his hotel on his motorcycle.

Somluck, who also won boxing titles at the 1994 and 1998 Asian Games in Hiroshima and Bangkok respectively, denied the allegations. AFP